Power Distribution Board

The Power Distribution Board (PDB) takes in 12s1p LiPo battery power (ranging from 36V to 50.4V) and supplies 17V to the NVIDIA Jetson and 5V to the custom PCBs onboard the rover. The board’s main purpose is to handle the regulation and distribution of power to the various subsystems of the rover. Additionally, the board also has a Battery Management System (BMS) onboard for battery state of charge (SOC) reading and passive cell balancing.

The voltage conversion is done using DC to DC buck converters for both the 17V and 5V power rails. Reverse polarity protection is employed via a P-channel MOSFET. Additionally, each load output is controlled by a smart high side switch for enable control via firmware and overcurrent protection.

The PDB is also responsible for controlling the LED matrix and interfacing with the 4 URM04 ultrasonic sensors on the rover for close-range obstacle detection.

Block Diagram

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Assembled PCB

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