An electrical charging station for charging an autonomous robot having a battery. The charging station includes a first charging member configured to receive a second charging member on the autonomous robot when the autonomous robot is docked with the charging station. There is a communications device configured to receive from the autonomous robot an identifier indicative of a type of battery on the autonomous robot. There is a power supply, electrically connected to the first charging member, configured to charge the autonomous robot according to a charging profile. The charging profile is selected based at least in part on the identifier received from the autonomous robot.