SEEDpower is an integrated solution for power management and regulation on small-to-medium sized robots. With full isolation of logic and motor power sources, the board supports 3-channel input (up to 3 batteries) and 4-channel output (Motor voltage, +12V, +5V, and +3.3V). Any of the two input batteries may be placed in series or parallel (using on-board jumpers), and the output is fully protected with both fuses and flyback diodes. The board supports "plug-and-play" charging, using an onboard relay to switch to an external supply whenever the robot is plugged in.
I built a few custom charging stations to charge the batteries inside DragonBot and Huggable while simultaneously powering the robots on an external supply. It charges up to three Lithium Polymer batteries and provides external power via two 110W power supplies. The lockable charging stations are kid-friendly, having only a single power umbilical with an industrial-grade polarized connector. The front of the charging station has an LED matrix, indicating power levels for the batteries and current draw for the external supplies.
The SEEDpower board delivers juice to DragonBot, Huggable, and many other projects from the the Personal Robots Group.
Relevant Technologies
Electronics design, LiPo power management, Eagle PCB, Rapid Prototyping
