BATTERY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM FOR AUTONOMOUS ROBOTS

Abstract

Battery-powered electronics devices have become ubiquitous in the modern society. The recent rapid expansion of the use of portable devices (e.g. portable computers, personal data assistants, cellular phones, shavers, etc) and Hybrid Electrical Vehicles (HEVs) creates a strong demand for fast deployment of the battery technologies at an unprecedented rate. The design of a battery-powered device requires many battery-management features, including charge control, battery-capacity monitoring, remaining run-time information, charge-cycle counting, etc.

Humanity has depended on the electricity ever since it was first discovered. Without this phenomenon much technological advancement would not have been made. When the need for mobility increased, people switched to portable energy storage devices. A battery today as a source of portable power, but it is no exaggeration to say that the battery is one of the most successful inventions in the history of mankind. In all kinds of batteries, lithium battery has the highest power density, energy density and the longest cycle life. Lithium batteries have now taken their place as the rechargeable battery of choice for portable consumer electronics equipment.

The new battery management system of high power lithium battery system for autonomous robots is proposed in this thesis. This new battery management system will recharge the batteries connected in series individually, and monitor each individual battery while the entire set is being charged. This will enable during charging, the system will prevent overcharging. During discharge, when the load is used, the battery management system prevents the module from over-discharging.

The main objective is to develop a battery management system to ensure that optimum use is made of the energy inside the battery powering the portable product and that the risk of damage to the battery is prevented. This is achieved by monitoring and controlling the battery’s charging and discharging process.