Are Custom Circuits allowed to be powered by a source that is not the robot battery?
I was actually just looking at this rule today.
If your custom circuit is made entirely of COTS computing device and peripheral COTS input or output devices, then you can power it from a separate battery pack. If not, the the power has to come from the robot battery.
This battery pack must be COTS, can be no more than 100Wh, and can’t discharge faster than 2.5 Amps.
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Thank you!
Read and understand R40 and R37. Many CUSTOM CIRCUITS will need to be powered by the main battery. R40 is intended for computing devices (like raspberry pi) and cameras (like GoPro).
Remember inputs and outputs to COTS computing devices can also be powered by a battery pack.
So if you have LEDs, they’re not a computing device. But if they’re controlled by an Arduino, they’re an output to a computing device so they can be. Same for a flashlight that you turn on/off with an Arduino. In that way, I suspect most electronics devices can become inputs or outputs to computing devices and can be powered off a battery pack.
I think the main exception will be devices that need more than 2.5 Amps. Standard COTS battery packs for cell phones have 5V outputs. 2.5A @ 5V is 12.5 Watts, and strong processors like a Jetson can pull more than that, especially if connected to power-intensive expansions, inputs, and outputs.