[EricH]

Let me put it this way: There are motors, the controller, and everything else on the robot using electricity. A robot can go in with a full battery (which is a little bit over 12V) and come out with a battery almost dead (say around 5V-8V). The PD board's job is to distribute that electricity to the rest of the robot, which means that it gets in (and out) whatever the battery is giving it. Don't count on the voltage being very close to 12V for very long.