Charging dock
To realize large-scale autonomous mobile systems, robots must be capable of automatically charging when battery levels become low. In addition, charging time should be minimized to allow operations to resume as quickly as possible.
To address these requirements, we jointly researched and developed a quick-charging connector for robotic applications in collaboration with Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Ltd. We also developed a charging dock equipped with this connector and a ROS package that enables precise alignment toward an AR marker.
As a result of this joint research, the automatic charging connector has now been officially commercialized by Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Ltd.
This technology is protected by Patent No. 6893230 (Japanese-language page).
For more details, please refer to the news release from Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Ltd.
Information
Automatic Charging Connector for Autonomous Mobile Robots
Jointly Developed with Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Ltd.
The automatic charging connector for autonomous mobile robots was jointly developed with Japan Aviation Electronics Industry, Ltd., and has been officially commercialized by the company.
The connector enables reliable mating and charging while tolerating positional deviations of approximately ±13 mm horizontally and angular misalignment of approximately ±10°. It supports a rated voltage of 250 V and a continuous rated current of 60 A.
In addition, the connector incorporates a circuit that allows charging only when proper mating is detected by an optical sensor, preventing malfunctions or failures caused by poor contact.
Position correction using AR marker
Use the ar_track_alvar package to correct the position of the charging station with the RGB camera only. As a result, we have developed a ROS package that approaches the recognized charging station from the front and performs automatic charging operations. You can attach an AR marker anywhere; with this function, the robot can stop accurately in various places.
Maintenance-free with automatic charging
The self-propelled drone that we are developing keeps track of the battery status, and when the battery is low, it docks itself in the charging dock and charges it. When charging is complete, it will automatically return to the patrol of the goal point, so no one will bother you.