Replacing the RFID card is just one (small) benefit of our approach. The bigger ones are:
1. Eliminating the internet connection lowers both installation cost and setup complexity for the charger. The RFID card doesn't save you from having to take these (expensive) steps when setting up a site, and to pay for the connection on an ongoing basis.
2. Once you eliminate the external variable of configuring a charger to use an internet connection and a backend, the setup flow becomes virtually a plug and play. This substantially improves scalability as we don't have to train dedicated installers. Any electrician who can read a wiring diagram can bring up a site. And, of course, this translates into lower costs for the user.
Of course you could have a disconnected charger using statically-configured RFID cars that doesn't require #1 and #2 above, but then you can't bill people for what they consume or centrally manage access. This is OK for some small sites, but isn't really a scalable solution.
1. Eliminating the internet connection lowers both installation cost and setup complexity for the charger. The RFID card doesn't save you from having to take these (expensive) steps when setting up a site, and to pay for the connection on an ongoing basis.
2. Once you eliminate the external variable of configuring a charger to use an internet connection and a backend, the setup flow becomes virtually a plug and play. This substantially improves scalability as we don't have to train dedicated installers. Any electrician who can read a wiring diagram can bring up a site. And, of course, this translates into lower costs for the user.
Of course you could have a disconnected charger using statically-configured RFID cars that doesn't require #1 and #2 above, but then you can't bill people for what they consume or centrally manage access. This is OK for some small sites, but isn't really a scalable solution.