Modern System of the Power Supply of the Module Transport Platforms of Ground Robotic Complexes for Covert Combat Actions

Abstract

The choice of energy sources to ensure the smooth functioning of the entire set of actuators of an autonomous transport platform of ground military robot, including traction propulsion, has a decisive impact on the overall performance and viability of the entire GRC (ground robotic complex) and determines, ultimately, its quality and reliability in the process. For covert warfare, recommending the use of energy sources such as internal combustion engines is impractical because of the high levels of inherent acoustic noise. With the advent of electrochemical energy sources, significant progress has been made in the development of a number of high technologies, namely, in the newest fields of technology - portable electronics and power electromechanics. Power sources such as lithium-ion batteries have proven to be much lighter and more compact than other types of batteries. Therefore, electrochemical lithium-ion batteries have been widely used in military robotics, ranging from small UAVs and multicopters to portable ground combat robots and marine robotic vehicles. Recent achievements in enhancing the specific performance of batteries of this type make it possible to use them in the electromechanical motors of modular transport platforms of modern ground robots for covert combat operations with a carrying capacity of up to 500 kg and above. The analytical purpose of the materials in this article is to compare the potential sources of electricity in terms of their practical use in military robotics, namely, in the transport platforms of modern GRC for covert warfare. Frame-modular platforms with a capacity of 50, 150 and 500 kg were adopted for the real objects with installed sources of electricity. The principal feature of these platforms is the presence of rigid tubular modular horizontal frame made of precision steel or composite tubes. In the internal cavities of these pipes it is proposed to install power sources made in the form of cylindrical functional blocks-modules.