Abstract
An energy autonomy system is sustained by energy from independent and distributed sources. This paper presents a robot system that obtains energy from renewable energy sources distributed over a large area with limited storage capacity. We constructed a linearized charge model to estimate the required energy node capacity and distribution for the robot to survive. For a robot to obtain energy from an energy source, it must be able to recognize the energy node and able to receive energy reliably. We used wireless power transfer to solve conventional contact charging problems, such as mechanical complexity and unstable contact, and image information was used to recognize the energy nodes and align the transmission coils accurately. A small scale renewable energy source was constructed and a charge experiment was conducted to verify the proposed autonomy system feasibility.
Highlights
Mobile robots and drones have found wide applications across many industries, including agriculture, delivery, search, and exploration
This study proposed a robot system where a mobile robot obtained energy from small-scale
This study proposed a robot system where a mobile robot obtained energy from small-scale energy sources distributed over a large area, e.g., as might be expected for renewable energy sources
Summary
Mobile robots and drones have found wide applications across many industries, including agriculture, delivery, search, and exploration. Other automatic charging methods have been proposed to allow robots to intake power or replace a charged battery autonomously [3,4] Such methods offer a reduced time required for charging, but current mechanisms are complicated and unreliable. A robot that consumes organic substances as its power supply rather than electrical energy has been proposed [5], as well as others that harvest their own energy. Battery exchange type recharging stations are difficult to use as distributed small scale energy sources because the exchange mechanisms are somewhat complicated. Several studies have considered wireless power transfer for mobile robots, proposing automatic charging systems for mobile robots using image information [13,14]. This study proposes an autonomous robotic system that can survive by acquiring energy from distributed sources with limited storage capacity, similar to the honey bee behavior.
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