Automatic discovery and selection of most qualified electric vehicle charging station

Media reports show that electric vehicles (EVs) still outnumber public charging stations by more than six to one, which is consistent with the early stage of electric car deployment. Thus finding charging stations may be a daunting task for EV drivers. Though the issue can be dealt with by providing online directories, web-based charging station locators, global positioning system (GPS) assisted gears, however, these methods are not adequate, because they do not help EV drivers automatically discover and select the most qualified EV charging station. Thus it will be frustrating for a driver to reach a certain location, or multiple locations, and not find a service because of gird inadequacy, long waiting queue, neighbourhood safety, or the value he was looking for. This paper introduces a method and apparatus based on which the smart client installed in EV would automatically discover, shortlist, and select, or to recommend the EV driver, the most qualified EV charging station.