Batteries are the most common power source for mobile robots. In today’s designs, lead-acid batteries have been mostly replaced by lithium chemistries. The two most common lithium chemistries in these applications are variations on lithium-ion (Li-ion), and lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4). This FAQ will begin by comparing the performance capabilities of Li-ion and LiFePO4 batteries.…

Charging batteries is simple (in theory) – put a voltage across the terminals and the battery charges. If safe charging, fast charging and/or maximum battery life are important, that’s when things get complicated. This article will consider various aspects of charging nickel-metal-hydride (NiMH), nickel cadmium (NiCd), lithium-ion (Li-ion), and lead acid (PbA) batteries. The three…

Battery cell isolators and battery cell separators are used to control current flow in multi-battery systems in a range of vehicles, including recreational vehicles, boats, utility vehicles, airplanes, large trucks, and off-road vehicles that accommodate auxiliary loads and high current loads such as a recovery winch. Battery isolators are designed to prevent auxiliary batteries from…

In this second part of EEWorld’s virtual round table on testing power consumption and batteries for wireless IoT nodes and wearables, our panelists delve into the nuances of complementary cumulative distribution function (CCDF) testing and predicting actual battery performance. Our panelists include: Janet Ooi (JO), IoT Industry Solutions Lead at Keysight Technologies, Shah Hassan (SH), […]

In addition to proper hardware design and power consumption testing, an accurate estimation of battery life is an important aspect of designing wireless Internet of Things (IoT) sensor nodes and wearables. For some medical or industrial devices, in particular, users’ lives can be at stake if the battery does not live up to expectations. Some […]

Battery selection for a given wireless Internet of Things (IoT) node or wearables design is complex. Among the important factors are: how long the device is expected to operate with a single battery; the choice between various primary and secondary battery chemistries; the nominal and cut-off voltage of the electronics; the energy/current consumption profile, the […]

Part one of this FAQ series focused on the various types of components available for designing power systems for wireless Internet of Things (IoT) sensor nodes, wearables, and similar applications. This FAQ focuses on measuring and validating the performance of those power systems. There are several instruments and approaches available for measuring and testing the […]

In this second part of EEWorld’s “virtual roundtable” discussion on fuel cells, our panelists delve into the impact of the emergence of fuel cells on energy storage compared with conventional rechargeable batteries: What factors determine when fuel cells are more cost-effective than rechargeable batteries? How do the maintenance and monitoring needs of fuel cells compare […]

In this first part of EEWorld’s “virtual roundtable” discussion on fuel cells, our panelists delve into the impact of fuel cells’ emergence compared with conventional rechargeable batteries: What performance advantage do fuel cells have? What is the barrier to large scale deployment? How can fuel cell performance be improved? And how do the environmental or […]

Fuel cells have begun to get traction in a wide variety of transportation systems. Recent announcements include Honda’s withdrawal from FIA Formula One racing to focus more resources on the development of battery and fuel cell-powered electric vehicles and ZeroAvia’s announcement of the world’s first flight of a hydrogen-electric fuel cell-powered passenger plane. Fuel cells […]