Power Electronics
Battery Runtime & Power Budget Estimator
Model complete system current draw across single-board computers, microcontrollers, LiDAR sensors, and drive motors to calculate runtime and discharge safety.
🔋 Battery Configuration
Battery Chemistry & Cell Series
3S LiPo (11.1V Nom / 12.6V Max)
Battery Capacity (C)
5200 mAh
Capacity in milliamp-hours (5.2 Ah).
Battery Discharge C-Rating
30 C
Safe continuous discharge limit = 156.0 A.
Usable Depth of Discharge (DoD)
80%
80% is recommended to prevent cell damage and extend cycle life.
⚡ System Power Loads
Main Compute / SBC (e.g. Raspberry Pi 5 / Jetson)
12.0 W
Pi 4/5: 5–15W; Jetson Orin Nano: 10–20W; Jetson AGX: 30–60W.
Microcontroller & Logic (ESP32 / STM32)
1.2 W
ESP32 with active Wi-Fi: ~0.8W–1.5W.
Perception Sensors (LiDAR + Depth Camera)
5.0 W
2D LiDAR (RPLiDAR A1): ~2W; RealSense D435i: ~2.5W.
Drive Motors (Average Operating Power)
24.0 W
Nominal cruising power across all drive motors combined.
Peak Motor Stall Power (Brief Bursts)
80.0 W
Worst-case acceleration or obstacle climb power.
Voltage Regulator Efficiency (DC-DC Buck/Boost)
88%
High efficiency synchronous buck converters typically achieve 88–92%.
⏱️ Runtime & Energy Analysis
Continuous Active Runtime
1h 12m
72.4 minutes under active drive
Idle / Standby Runtime
3h 45m
Compute & sensors only
Total Stored Energy
57.7 Wh
Usable (80% DoD): 46.2 Wh
Average Battery Current
4.31 A
Average Power: 47.8 W
C-Rating Safety & Peak Load Check
✓ SAFE: Peak Draw = 8.8A (0.06x of 156A limit)
Your battery provides generous headroom for motor stall spikes without voltage brownouts.
Recommended Low-Voltage Alarm Setting
10.50 V (3.50 V per cell)
Configure your BMS or robot telemetry alarm to trigger return-to-base at this cutoff.
📊 Subsystem Power Allocation
Motors & Actuation (Cruising):
SBC Main Compute:
LiDAR & Depth Cameras:
Microcontroller & Embedded Logic:
DC-DC Conversion Thermal Loss:
Total Battery Drain Rate:
47.8 W