New power trip: US car drivers take charge

San Francisco – The growing demand for electric vehicles in the US has prompted the development of smart charging stations.

The Blink Level 2 charging stations by ECOtality, a developer of clean energy technologies, and Frog Design, integrates the driver, car, home and utility by using smart grid systems. When a car is fully charged, it will communicate this to the driver via smartphones and web applications.

The chargers, with their minimal black and white design, will be available as an in-home residential wall-mount unit or in 15,000 commercial charging stations in 16 US cities.

For more on the integration of technology, read our micro trend on Smart Living.