Thanks to six years of experience in this field, Berlin-based Skycharge has announced a new charging technology for drones and AGVs, engineered to let you build charging pads, and AGV docking stations.
In principle the solution is very simple. When the contacts installed on the drone/robot come in contact with the conductive elements connected to the charge system, charging starts automatically.
How it works
The system has the smallest footprint and it is by far the most lightweight on the market. With an ultralight onboard payload of 20g it is possible to transfer up to 750W to the drone/AGV.
The system comes with an intuitive web based interface to let you configure, manage and monitor your charge systems in an intuitive manner. Open SDK are also available enabling any kind of developments on top of the hardware in a transparent manner.
The first and most important feature of the system is the added safety against contact shorts. The contacts can safely come into contact with any conductive surface and liquids without generating shorts. The Skycharge system comes also with robust protection against overload, over voltage, and over temperature.
The most unique feature is the data link established alongside the electrical connection. No other charging system on the market has this feature. The data link used by the charging system to optimize charging according to the battery’s needs. There are many other ways the data link could be used. You could use it to transfer BMS data, or authorize a device before charging it. Maybe you want to charge different batteries in different ways, and dynamically adapt the charging curve based on BMS data – or build deep-learning-based charging algorithms and services.
Who this is for
Since 2015 a growing number of drone manufacturers and service providers rely on Skycharge’s drone charging pad and hangars. Drone and AGVs manufacturers can now implement the new charge system in their preferred manner, building services on top of it, or leveraging those that are offered by Skycharge.
Source: Press Release