Electrical

RobotX 2024 > Electrical

Overview

The power distribution system originates in the aft and travels to the starboard power distribution box. The Torqeedo battery range of 22-29 volts is stepped down to 12 and 5 volts and routed to the port side control electronics box. The power is moved through the aft power cables, utilizing aerospace type six pin locking connectors. Safety is paramount so we focused on creating a reliable kill switch system that utilizes buttons in series. When pressed, the short breaks and switches off the solenoid. Additionally, a custom LoRa module board is also in series uses 915 GHz frequency and a timeout system to kill the ASV in a timely manner.

ESC POWER DISTRIBUTION ECE 191 SP24 

Located inside the starboard side power distribution box is the simplified ESC only mount. We went with the simplified version of the Spring quarter 2024 ECE 191 capstone student’s design due to schedule constraints. This subsystem enables us to safely power our front vectored thrusters using the Torqueedo batteries.

Port Side Power Distribution ECE 191 WI 24

Power travels from the port side power distribution box to the starboard side electronics box. The light status and LoRa module board are also located in the port side. For the kill switch there is a solenoid that is triggered either externally by the push buttons on the corners of the ASV or remotely wirelessly by a custom PCB that uses LoRa to communicate with the ground station. The light status was also designed to be much simpler than 2022 and utilizes a programmable LED strip with an Arduino to detect and display a power-kill or switch between auto and tele modes.

LOW LEVEL CONTROL BOARD ECE 191 SP 24

The Low-Level Controls Interface project the Spring 2024 ECE 191 capstone students took on was a project that consisted of:

  • Development of the Low Level Controls Interface for the WAM-V Motor Boat.

  • Creation of a PCB for the STM32 chip.

  • Writing low-level code for STM32 to control Vector Motors thrusters.

  • Sending data packets to BeagleBone, which communicates with Torqeedo motors via a proprietary protocol.