The management of DC power is one of the basic challenges in designing an autonomous ocean lander. We can go pretty far down the rabbit hole with this topic. This article is
The management of DC power is one of the basic challenges in designing an autonomous ocean lander. We can go pretty far down the rabbit hole with this topic. This article is intended to share a few thoughts for the readers’ consideration.
We start with a premise. A lever without a fulcrum is just a stick. A fulcrum without a lever is just a door stop. Bring both together and you have a simple machine. Similarly, a sensor or microcontroller without an amplifier is just a novelty. Both must work together to effectively manage power in an ocean lander.
Batteries
Batteries power circuits in autonomous vehicles. Different chemistries have their own issues with self-discharge and loss of capacity driven by low temperature. (See Lander Lab #10, Marine Technology Reporter, March/April 2024). Onboard circuits may require different voltages. Critical function circuits, such as the release, should be powered by a “sacred” battery pack, not shared with anything that might inadvertently deplete it.
Charging batteries can be done in one of several ways, including: 1) opening the housing and charging, 2) charging through the end cap, or 3) external batteries that are swapped out using an underwater connector or inductive link.
Charging through
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