Why and how to use a component-based distributed power architecture for robotics

For a maximum operating time between charges, designers of these battery systems have always needed to be concerned about power conversion efficiency, as well as size and weight.

However, these concerns have become more critical as load capacities continue to increase and sensing and safety features – such as vision, ranging, proximity, location, among others – add design complexity and physical weight. The additional electronics processing required also consumes more power. 

To maximise battery life in the face of these additional challenges, designers can turn to a component-based distributed power delivery architecture. In such an approach, each individual DC-DC power conversion component can be placed at the point of load (PoL) and optimised for high efficiency, small size, and overall performance. This approach can result in a lighter overall power system, enabling further performance gains for battery-powered robotic systems. Flexibility is also enhanced, since power conversion components can be paralleled to scale easily, as robotic power demands increase. They also allow for the same power architecture to be deployed across a platform of robotic systems of various sizes.

Power requirements for robots

The power requirements for specific types of robots are determined by the application:

• Agricultural harvesting robots: Plant, maintain, and harvest produce using automated vehicle guidance, along with visual recognition and multiple environmental and soil analysis sensors. These large robotic vehicles are typically powered from a high-voltage DC source of 400 volts (V) or more.

• Delivery robots: Last-mile consumer or campus delivery of various items. While payloads vary in size and weight, these robots are typically powered by 48-100V batteries and have longer run-time requirements than the warehouse inventory moving class of robots.

• Warehouse inventory moving robots: Provide inventory management and order fulfilment tasks within large warehouse environments. This robot class is typically powered from a 24-72V battery source with opportunity charging performed on an as-needed basis.

Read the full article in the June issue of DPA