THE CHALLENGEA Swap Network Is a Logistics Problem in Disguise
Battery swapping promises a rider a full pack in under a minute, but behind that minute sits a hard operational problem. Every pack is an asset that moves between riders and stations, charging on its own schedule, aging at its own rate, and earning revenue on every swap. If you cannot track which pack is where, whether it is charged, and how healthy it is, stations run dry, packs get lost, and billing leaks. Station controller integration, per-pack tracking, charging schedule logic, and a billing platform turn a fleet of packs and cabinets into a network you can actually run.
Sits inside the Telematics and GPS Tracking stack and shares hardware and platform building blocks with EV Battery and BMS Monitoring.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
From Swap Bay to Billing
Station Controller Integration
Integration with the swap cabinet controller over RS485 or CAN drives the slot locks, reads slot occupancy, and commands charging per bay. An STM32-based gateway in the station bridges the cabinet to the cloud so each slot, lock, and charger reports its real state.
Swap Logging
Every swap is logged as a transaction: the rider, the depleted pack returned, the charged pack issued, the slots involved, and the timestamp. Each swap reconciles the inventory automatically so the network always knows what is in every cabinet.
Per-Pack Tracking
Every pack is tracked by ID across riders and stations, with its BMS read over CAN at the station for state of charge, cell health, temperature, and cycle count. A pack is followed through its whole life so none go missing and none are issued unfit.
Station Health Monitoring
Each cabinet is monitored for slot faults, charger faults, door and lock status, temperature, and connectivity. A failing slot or charger raises an alert before it strands a rider, and the dashboard shows network health at a glance.
Charging Schedule and SoC Control
Charging is controlled per slot to keep enough fully charged packs ready for demand while shifting load to off-peak tariffs and respecting thermal limits. Demand patterns drive the schedule so a station is stocked when riders arrive.
Billing Integration
Swaps connect to billing: subscription, pay-per-swap, or energy-based pricing, reconciled against the actual pack issued and its delivered charge. Settlement with station hosts and fleet partners runs off the same clean swap ledger.
THE SWAP, IN UNDER A MINUTE
Return Empty, Take Charged, Ride On
A rider wants the swap to be as fast as refueling and never wants to take home a weak pack. Behind that one-minute swap the platform validates the rider, picks the healthiest charged pack, and books the transaction, all before the rider closes the cabinet door.
Authenticate and Open
The rider authenticates at the cabinet through the app or an RFID card, the platform validates their subscription or balance, and the station releases an empty slot for the depleted pack.
Issue the Right Pack
The platform picks a fully charged pack with healthy cells and the right temperature, then unlocks that slot. The rider never gets a hot, weak, or partly charged pack because the station chooses, not the rider.
Book and Reconcile
The swap is logged, inventory updates, the returned pack starts charging on schedule, and billing settles the transaction. The whole exchange is recorded and auditable.
HOW IT WORKS
Cabinet, Link, Platform
Station Gateway
FreeRTOS on the STM32 station gateway talks to the cabinet controller over RS485 or CAN, polls each slot for occupancy and charge state, reads returned packs over their BMS, and drives the slot locks and chargers under cloud command.
Connectivity
The station connects over a Quectel EC200 LTE module with MQTT and TLS, falling back to wired ethernet where available. A local buffer keeps swaps logged through a network outage and syncs on reconnect so no transaction is lost.
Cloud Platform
A time-series and inventory backend holds every pack, slot, and swap. The scheduling engine, the operations dashboard, and the billing service all read one swap and pack ledger, so inventory, health, and revenue always agree.
SAFETY AND COMPLIANCE
Charging Packs Safely at Scale
Thermal and Charge Safety
Per-slot temperature and charge limits are enforced from the pack BMS data and the cabinet sensors, and a pack is held out of service if its cells are out of spec. A cabinet full of charging packs is monitored continuously for thermal risk.
Pack Standards and Interop
Swappable battery interface conventions keep the station, the pack, and the BMS speaking a consistent protocol over CAN. Where a network mandates a standard pack interface, the build follows it for cross-vendor interoperability.
Data and Payment Security
Swap and pack telemetry run over TLS, payment flows through PCI-compliant processors, and the swap ledger is tamper-evident so billing and settlement are auditable. Rider data handling follows GDPR and local privacy rules.
FAQ
Common Questions
How do you track individual battery packs across the network?
Every pack carries an ID, and its BMS is read over CAN at each station for state of charge, cell health, temperature, and cycle count. Each swap logs which pack moved between which rider and which slot, so a pack is followed through its entire life and none go missing.
How do you integrate with the swap cabinet hardware?
The platform integrates with the cabinet controller over RS485 or CAN through an STM32-based station gateway. It drives the slot locks, reads slot occupancy and charge state, and commands charging per bay under cloud control.
How do you make sure riders get a healthy, charged pack?
The station chooses the pack, not the rider. The platform selects a fully charged pack with healthy cells at the right temperature and unlocks only that slot, so a rider never receives a hot, weak, or partly charged pack.
How is charging scheduled across the cabinet?
Charging is controlled per slot to keep enough fully charged packs ready for expected demand while shifting load to off-peak tariffs and respecting thermal limits. Demand patterns drive the schedule so a station is stocked when riders arrive.
How does billing work for a swap?
Swaps reconcile against the actual pack issued and its delivered charge, supporting subscription, pay-per-swap, or energy-based pricing through PCI-compliant processing. The swap ledger is tamper-evident, so settlement with station hosts and partners is auditable.
What happens if a station loses connectivity?
The station gateway buffers swaps and telemetry locally and keeps serving riders, then syncs with the cloud on reconnect. No swap or transaction is lost during a network outage.
Ready to Run Your Swap Network?
Share your packs, your cabinets, and your billing model to get a tailored approach to station integration, pack tracking, and the platform that keeps your network stocked and accounted for, along with a realistic timeline.
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