Yves Behar Teams with GE to Design Electric Car Chargers
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Late last month, talking about his first foray into exhibition curating, we were saying that 2010 was quickly turning out to be all Yves Behar‘s. Now we’re absolutely certain of it. Late yesterday, the designer and his fuseproject company announced a partnership with General Electric‘s unfortunately-named GE Ecomagniation group, on a project called the WattStation. Looking like a cross between a very large electric razor or a pay phone for the ample-eared, it’s an electric car charger, which will begin shipping either late this year or early next, for between $1,000 to $7000 (depending on models and features), according to Forbes. GE is trying to plan ahead for a market driven by electric cars in the future and wants in on the ground floor. Nice to see they had the good sense to hire a top notch product designer from the start. Here’s some description from fuseproject about the chargers and a video of the project after the jump:
The WattStation comes imbedded with GE’s Smart Grid technology which enables the station to charge a vehicle in 4-8 hours compared to the typical 12-18. By communicating wirelessly with digital platforms and mobile devices, users will be able to remotely locate, operate and monitor the unit. The WattStation is also the very first charging station with a self-retractable charging cable, keeping streets tidy while protecting the cable from weather elements. All of these innovations are jammed tight into a compact metal shell, which is solidly constructed to withstand any harsh weather and usage conditions. It even has a built-in heater to defrost the snow!
A video of the project after the jump.
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