Cooling Modes in Electronic Loads

Applications based on renewable energy are thriving. This is leading to a requirement for increased testing of devices that generate renewable DC power—devices like solar panels, fuel cells, and batteries, to name a few. This testing is typically by employing electronic loads, mostly programmable and with a design that can draw various specified amounts of power from the source. In the lab or on the production floor an electronic load is the most suitable instrument to characterize devices producing DC output.

Selection of an electronic load requires careful consideration of several options like the voltage, current, and power ratings; operating modes; cooling methods; transient response times; calibration techniques; computer interfaces; and protective features.

Starting with the choices for voltage, current, and power ratings, most users also look for subtleties like the need for a load capable of sinking high currents at very low voltages. The cooling method is typically based on power rating, either a water-cooled device or an air-cooled one. Air-cooled loads have the advantage of flexibility—they can be self-contained, capable of being moved anywhere in the facility without the need for plumbing. On the other hand, water-cooled loads are smaller and less expensive as compared to air-cooled loads of the same power rating. Moreover, water-cooled loads will not load the HVAC system with extra heat generation. Usually, the HVAC system may not consider a 1 kW air-cooled load as a burden, but a 50 kW air-cooled load will certainly tax the HVAC system.

A number of factors determine the exact power level above which a user might consider a water-cooled load as preferable. Apart from the application, this might include the space and facility available. Most programmable electronic loads employ field-effect transistors or FETs. According to a rule of thumb, the air-cooled design uses only 50% of the capacity of each FET, and a water-cooled design uses up to about 85%. This results in a 35% saving in the number of FETs at a given power level for a water-cooled load. Not only does this lead to a reduction is costs, but also space requirements. For instance, at a 7.5 kW rating, an air-cooled load can cost roughly twice as much for a water-cooled load.

On the other hand, water-cooled loads lack the flexibility that is inherent in an air-cooled unit. Moreover, to use a water-cooled load, the user must install a water-cooling infrastructure, such as a chiller and associated plumbing. Depending on the layout of the user’s facility, this might be a costly and difficult task. Moreover, a chiller may need an expansion in the future, and the plan must accommodate it.

Operating modes need consideration next. Broadly, electronic loads operate in two modes—constant current and constant voltage. The constant current mode allows the load to sink a specific current, irrespective of the input voltage, provided the load’s specifications are not exceeded. In the constant voltage mode, the load will sink variable amounts of current to maintain a constant voltage at its input. Some loads will also offer additional modes like constant-power and constant-resistance modes.

A Bending and Stretching Battery

All electrical and electronic equipment we use in our daily lives requires power to operate. Movable equipment depends on batteries for their mobility. We are used to various types of batteries, like dry cells, lead-acid batteries, rechargeable Ni-Cd and Li-Ion batteries, and so on. However, all the batteries in common use are rigid, non-flexing structures. That may be changing now, as some researchers have claimed to have created a battery that is flexible and stretchable like a snake but unlike a snake, totally safe for humans.

Researchers in Korea claim to have developed a new type of battery that is flexible and stretchable with smooth movements imitating the movements of scales on a snake’s body. However, they have issued assurances that the battery is totally safe for use. This flexible and stretchable battery has a range of applications in contoured devices like wearables and soft robotics.

Although individual scales on the body of a snake are rigid, they can fold together to offer protection against enemies and external forces. The structural characteristics of the scales allow them to move alongside other scales, offering flexibility and stretching capabilities to the snake’s body. At the Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, researchers from the Ministry of Science and ICT decided to replicate the reptilian characteristics in a mechanical meta structure.

Most conventional wearable devices have the battery in a tight formation with the frame. The new device has several small and rigid batteries in series and parallel connections within a scale-like structure. The researchers ensure the safety of the battery by optimizing its structure so that there is minimum deformation of each battery. They have even optimized the shape of each cell in the battery to offer the highest capacity per unit area.

The connective components and the shape of the battery cell hold the key to this unique device. Each cell is a small hexagonal, resembling the scale on a snake. The researchers have connected each cell with polymer and copper, and there is a hinge mechanism to allow folding and unfolding.

With an aim to mass production in the future, the researchers claim the batteries can be cut and folded with flexible electrodes, with Origami inspiring their manufacturing process.

Wearable devices for humans requiring soft and flexible energy storage can make the best use of these flexible batteries. Another application might be in rehabilitation medical devices for the sick and elderly requiring physical assistance. Soft robots can make use of these flexible batteries as power supply devices at disaster sites when conducting rescue missions. With their ability to freely change shape and move flexibly, these soft robots can move through blocked narrow spaces unhindered by flexible batteries.

Senior researcher, Dr. Bongkyun Jang co-led the research team has commented that mimicking the scales of a snake helped the researchers to develop a flexible battery, making it stretchable and safe to use. The researchers hope that in the future they can develop more soft energy storage devices while boosting their storage capacity. They also hope to develop multi-functional soft robots offering a combination of artificial muscle with actuation technology.

Audio Frequency Range and Electronic Components

A vast majority of people like to listen to some form of audio. Be it in cars, homes, or theaters, audio is prevalent, and its applications are growing with the increasing use of portable devices. In all audio systems, important factors for a portable audio device are its design, size, cost, and quality. But listeners judge the performance of an audio device primarily on the basis of its capability to recreate the necessary audio frequencies.

The audio industry commonly refers to the frequency range that humans can hear and perceive as 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz. Although the average human can distinguish far less than this range, the ability depends on the age and health of the individual. For instance, with age, this range inevitably shrinks, with the loss being more pronounced at the higher frequencies.

Experts divide the perceptible audio spectrum into seven subsets. Starting with the sub-bass subset whose frequency ranges from 16 to 6 Hz, is the primary low range of musical instruments. Then comes the bass frequencies ranging from 60 to 250 Hz, and this is the normal speaking vocal range. Next is the lower mid-range of brass and wood instruments covering the range of 250 to 500 Hz. Mid-range frequencies follow next, covering 500 Hz to 2 kHz, where the higher end of fundamental frequencies of most musical instruments lies. The next range is the higher mid-range, covering 2 to 4 kHz, where the harmonics of most instruments are present. The next range is the presence ranging from 4 to 6 kHz, and this is where the harmonics of string instruments are. The last subset is the brilliance, ranging from 6 to 20 kHz, where the most whiles and whistles are present, and where the harmonics of most percussion instruments lie.

For visualizing and quantifying audio frequencies generate by most audio devices and electronic components, experts rely on frequency response graphs. These graphs are a plot of the sound pressure level at a specified distance plotted against frequency. For instance, a buzzer puts out an audible tone, which features a narrow frequency range on the response graph. On the other hand, audio speakers feature a wide frequency range coverage, as they must recreate sound and voice more faithfully.

A typical frequency response graph for electronic components generating sound depicts the sound pressure level or loudness on its Y-axis on a logarithmic scale, while the X-axis represents frequencies on a logarithmic scale. For electronic devices that sense audio input, such as microphones, the frequency response graph shows sensitivity as sound pressure level on the Y-axis on a logarithmic scale. Most of the frequency response graphs represent a constant power input to the device under measurement.

The frequency response graph is an important document for selecting electronic components for a specific application. For instance, it can differentiate whether a particular speaker will be a good performer for the entire audio frequency range, or it will be suitable for bass frequencies alone. Similarly, the frequency response graph for a microphone will characterize it as suitable for a concert or for instrumentation.

Hybrid Plug-in Connectors for Motor Control Systems

Motor control systems are increasingly becoming more compact while their use is growing with applications in Industry 4.0 and Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT). In fact, motor control systems are prevalent in varied industries like food and beverages, material handling, and robotics. However, as the size of the controller shrinks, designers are facing a new challenge—routing power and signal easily and cost-effectively—while ensuring operator safety and electromagnetic compatibility.

One can use advanced open source interfaces to connect both power and data signals with a single compact connector. Although this does simplify connectivity, the quality, design, and performance of the connector become critical to ensure signal integrity, EMC, and compliance with IP20 requirements.

Designers have moved to Hiperface DSL and SCS open Link, open-source interfaces, to allow the same connector to carry both power and data. This not only saves space but also lowers the cost and simplifies the design of high-performance motor controllers.

The communicating cable has two shielded wires for bi-directional communication based on RS-485, and other wires for encoder power, motor power, and motor brake controls. There are three elements—a three-phase power supply cable, a shielded motor brake cable, a shielded data pair for digital data transfer—enclosed within a shielded cable.

The Hiperface DSL offers a data transmission rate of 9.375 MBaud, over a cable distance of up to 100 meters between the motor controller and the motor. It is possible to transmit data on the cable in two ways—cyclically, given signal and noise conditions, or synchronously with the controller clock.

The motor feedback interface design of the SCS open Link system can supply bidirectional data between the motor and controller. This includes encoder data at rates up to 10 MBaud. It is possible to use two or four-wire implementation. This link is optimized for Industry 4.0, and especially for emerging IIoT solutions, including motor condition monitoring and predictive maintenance.

For SCS open Link and Hiperface DSL to operate reliably, the connection needs optimum shielding between the motor/encoder and its drive. The number of interfaces reduces with the use of plug-in connectors and connection terminals. It is also important to have unbroken shielded cables between the motor/encoder and the drive. However, as the drive connector is non-standard, designers must be careful when designing their own connectors for meeting performance requirements.

OMNIMATE Power Hybrid connectors are an alternative to the SCS open Link and Hiperface DSL. These are a three-in-one solution providing signal, power, and EMC features that implement the SCS open Link and Hiperface DSL protocols. Moreover, the hybrid connectors save space on the motor drive printed circuit board and in the controller cabinet.

The hybrid connectors are available in several configurations. These include six-, seven-, eight-, and nine-position connections. They include power and signal contacts with push-in wire connections. The pitch is 7.62 mm, conforming to the IEC 61800-5-1 and UL 1059 Class C 600 V standards. Several practical design features in the connectors provide high reliability. For instance, the adequate separation between encoder and power connections ensures minimum EMC.

Connectivity Opportunities with 5G

Various parts of the world use different connectivity standards. While some are still struggling with 2, 3, and 4G connectivity, more progressive countries are trying out 5G and 6G. However, since 2019, when the markets introduced 5G, there has been considerable interest in its features. Smartphone manufacturers are now launching new handsets that offer the promise of substantially faster internet access along with the most advanced functionality.

So far, several mobile networks have adopted 5G, the latest and fastest protocol in the market. The recent pandemic forced millions to work from home remotely, and the high-speed wireless communication that 5G offers, came at the most opportune moment.

While manufacturers are busy offering the latest generation of mobile phones to access the 5G wireless telecommunications, many are still not aware of the true impact that the 5G technology has brought us overall. While 5G is a powerful tool for consumers, they are not the sole beneficiaries. 5G is slated to impart a far greater impact to the industrial world as compared to what any other network has so far. In fact, the data speeds offered by 5G are even challenging those from the more traditional wired technologies. This is the first time the world can unshackle itself from a physically wired net.

The introduction of the Internet of Things (IoT) has started the Fourth Industrial Revolution rolling. The IoT brings with it machine-to-machine communications, which, in its basic form, allows electronic devices to share data and communicate without requiring any human intervention. The introduction of 5G began at home, where machines are dominating several tasks in everyday life like grocery shopping to energy metering.

Nevertheless, IoT in future homes is only the tip of the iceberg. The functionality that IoT offers to designers is mind-boggling. The manufacturing world is now reveling in the creation of the smart factory, a byproduct of the Industrial Internet of Things (IIoT).

A traditional factory has several machines, each performing their own tasks, totally isolated from their neighbors. IIoT connects all machines into a network that allows the entire shop floor to act as a single entity. Sharing information among themselves, machines manage not just the production schedules, but also take care of the supply chain, logistics aspects of the operation, and their own maintenance.

With the introduction of 5G communication, the industrial environment will begin to integrate more devices into the smart factory network. A private 5G cell can handle the entire facility while allowing high-speed data flow from all parts of the factory operation, beginning from sensors to the operation of the largest machines. The introduction of a wireless network in the factory brings substantial benefits like unparalleled flexibility. Manufacturers can easily reconfigure production lines to respond to newer demands from the market.

5G communications are not limited to inside the factory premises alone. One of the major users of 5G technology is the automobile industry. While the demand for electric vehicles is growing at a tremendous pace, vehicles are fast becoming autonomous or self-driven. This requires vehicles to communicate with their neighbors on the road. 5G ensures fast communication to promote safety.

Solderless CoB LED Holders

CoB or Chip-on-board LEDs are very popular for producing high-power lights. Many connector manufacturers provide easier and faster methods for setting and mounting the CoB LEDs in lighting fixtures. One of them is the solderless LED holders, focusing on easy and fast assembly, secure attachments, and lower costs. Numerous companies are now offering solderless CoB LED holders.

An LED holder typically holds the CoB LED before mounting on the heat sink. As the operator screws the holder on to the heat sink, the holder pushes the LED on the heat sink to allow good heat transfer. The holder also allows making electrical connection to the LED. In addition, the holder provides isolated landing zones for secondary optics such as lenses and reflectors.

TE Connectivity is one of the major producers of solderless holders for CoB LEDs. Their Z50 connector from the LUMAWISE family, conforming to the Zhaga consortium specifications, is the latest. The specifications stress on the interchangeability of light-sources and simplify general LED lighting arrangements.

Assembling the Z50 takes only five easy steps:

  • Snap the CoB into the base
  • Apply thermal grease to the LED
  • Fit cables into the Z50 base
  • Screw the assembly on to the heat sink
  • Attach secondary optics

The Z50 is available in various designs compatible with LEDs from different manufacturers. These include the SOLARIQ array, Nichicon CoB, OSRAM Opto, Philips LUMEDS, and the CXA series from Cree. One can use the holder in different ways such as for stage lights, wall washers, downlights, architectural lighting, and spotlights.

Molex offers PSI or plastic-substrate interconnect suitable for LED CoB arrays. Molex has designed these holders such that users can achieve a secure connection very fast. The interconnects are customizable as they address space constraints. Lighting designs often demand low-profile harness interfaces that the PSI addresses very well. A simple connection to the holder delivers power to the array.

Ideal for area lighting and down-lighting, the PSI system from Molex is available in custom shapes including the more common rectangular and circular as well. Other low-profile receptacles and headers are also available from Molex.

Solderless LED connectors are also available from VCC, such as their CNX 460 and CNX 440 series. The receptacles are unique as they require no tools for assembly, offering an easy and quick threaded connection. It is possible to configure the CNX 440 series to make it support up to 6 leaded IR, UC, or RGB LEDs at a time. On the other hand, it is possible to use the CNX 460 for standard 10 mm LED packages or high-flux LEDs. Both series can work with LED brands from all major manufacturers. For increased brightness, VCC offers HMC 461 and CMC 441, with Fresnel ring lens style. NEMA 4 applications can use HMC 4661 and CMS 442, also from VCC.

Providing extra stability to the leads of the LED, the CNX 460 and CNX 440 series of LED connectors have unique interconnectors. VCC has designed the connectors to easily integrate them within standalone assemblies or custom cable assemblies providing wire ends stripped for PCB connection. No crimping or soldering is necessary, as the modular panel mount from VCC offers easy and superior connection and stability.

What is Industrial Connectivity?

Engineers include any component involved in the path of delivering control signals or power for doing useful work as part of industrial connectivity. Typically, components such as terminal blocks, connectors, motor starters, and relays are part of industrial connectivity.

Engineers divide industrial connectors into four categories depending on the environments in which they operate—commercial, industrial, military, and hermetic. Commercial applications do not consider temperature and atmosphere as critical operating factors affecting performance. Industrial applications require connectors capable of handling more rugged environments involving hazards such as sand, dust, physical jarring, vibration, corrosion, and thermal shock.

Most general connectors use low-cost materials to merely maintain electrical continuity. However, designers have a large variety of materials from which to choose for making connectors. These include brass, beryllium copper, nickel-silver alloys, gold, gold-over-silver, gold-over-nickel, silver, nickel, rhodium, rhodium-over-nickel, and tin.

No wire preparation is necessary for use in terminal blocks. The user only needs to strip the insulation and install the wire using a screwdriver. One can use a wide range of wire sizes with terminals that provide an easy way to hookup wires from different components, ensuring fast connection/disconnection during troubleshooting and maintenance.

Manufacturers make terminal bodies from a copper alloy with the same expansion coefficient as the wire it connects. This prevents uneven expansion from causing loosening between the connector screws and the wire, avoiding an increase in contact resistance. Using similar metals also avoids corrosion, usually with two different metals in contact, as a result of electrolytic action between them.

SSRs or Solid-State Relays control load currents passing through them. For this, they use power transistors, SCRs, or silicon-controlled rectifiers, or TRIACs as switching devices. Engineers use isolation mechanisms such as optoisolators, reed-relays, and transformers for coupling input signals to the switching devices to control them.

To reduce the voltage transients and spikes that load-current interruptions typically generate, engineers use zero-crossing detectors and snubber circuits, incorporating them within solid-state relays.

Semiconductor switches generate significant amounts of waste power, and engineers must minimize their operating temperature using heat sinks attached to solid-state relays. SSRs can operate in rapid on/off cycles that would wear out conventional electromechanical relays quickly.

Electromechanical relays physically open and close electrical contacts for operating other devices. In general, they cost much less than equivalent electronic switches. They also have some inherent advantages over solid-state devices. For instance, the input circuit in electromechanical relays is electrically isolated from the output circuits, and one relay can have more than one output circuit, each electrically isolated from the others.

Furthermore, the contact resistance offered by electromechanical relays is substantially lower than that offered by a solid-state relay of a similar rating. The contact capacitance is lower as well, benefitting high-frequency circuits. Compared to solid-state relays, electromechanical relays are far less sensitive to transients and spikes, not turning on as frequently as SSRs do. Brief shorts and overloads also damage electromechanical relays to a far less extent than the damage they cause to SSRs.

Improved manufacturing technology is now making available electromechanical relays in small packages suitable automated soldering for PCB mounting and surface mounting.

IoT and DIP Switches

Pre-configuring equipment helps in many ways. In the field, the ability to pre-configure functionality eases installation procedures, helps in diagnostics, and reduces downtime. DIP switches are very popular for pre-configuring devices and an increase in their demand is accelerating the flexibility in their design.

Although designers nowadays prefer to use re-programmable memories and software menus in equipment, DIP switches customizing the behavior of electronic devices was have always been present. DIP switches present an easy-to-use method for changing the functionality that anyone even without software knowledge can use. An added advantage of DIP switches over software menus is the former allows change even when the equipment has no power.

Engineers developed the DIP switch in the 1970s, and their usefulness remains relevant even after five decades, for instance, for changing the modality of a video game or for fine-tuning the operation of a machine on the shop floor. Now, engineers are finding new uses for this proven technology in innovative applications such as the IoT or Internet of Things.

Depending on present requirements, manufacturers now present a large variety of DIP switches for modern applications. It is now easy to find surface mount versions of DIP switches, with SPST or single pole single throw, SPDT or single pole double throw configurations, or multi-pole single and double throw options. Piano type side actuated DIP switches, side DIP switches, and DIP switches in sealed and unsealed versions are also available readily off the shelf.

Originally, DIP switches were a stack of manually operated electric switches available in a compact DIP or dual-in-line package with pins. The configuration of the pins of a DIP switch was the same as that of an IC with leads, which made it easy for a designer to incorporate in the printed circuit board. It was usual for each switch to have two rows of pins, one on each side. The distance between the rows was 0.3”, while the pitch or gap between adjacent pins was 0.1”. By taking advantage of the same mounting technique as that of an IC, the DIP switch provided a compact switching mechanism that designers could place directly on the PCB.

By stacking DIP switches side by side, the designer could add as many switches to the circuit as necessary. The versatility of the DIP switch lay in the numerous configurations achievable. For instance, it is possible to generate an incredible 256 combinations from an eight-position DIP switch. Each switch can assume one of two ways, and an eight switches combination can assume one of 256 ways (2 to the eight power).

Earlier, digital electronics mostly used eight bits to a byte, which made the eight-position DIP switch more of a standard at the time. With advancements, digital electronics now encompasses 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, and even 256 bits, generating a great demand for DIP switches with new designs.

DIP switches are easier for the user as they offer a visual indication of the present setup.  For manufacturers, DIP switches make it easier to customize their production, at the same time, allowing the user to make changes as necessary.

Sensor Technologies for Air Quality Monitoring

Although air is all around us, we breathe it in every minute, and our lives depend on it, yet we pay very little attention to the quality of air, unless when facing a problem. Whether it is indoors or outdoors, poor air quality can affect our health and well-being significantly. Two levels of air pollution measurement are significant here.

One is the presence of small PM2.5 or Particulate Matters measuring less than 2.5 microns in size—one micron being one-micrometer equal to one-millionth of a meter or one-thousandth of a millimeter. The other is the presence of VOCs or Volatile Organic Compounds.

Combustion processes emit PM2.5 type of pollutants, for instance, by fires burning in fireplaces and lit candles within the house. Cleaning textiles, furniture, and supplies can emit VOCs. Engineers and scientists are working on improving sensing technologies to enable monitoring PM2.5 and sensing VOC by personal air quality monitoring systems for improving the health and well-being of the people.

According to the WHO, PM2.5 enters our lungs easily causing serious health problems such as chronic and acute respiratory diseases, asthma, lung cancer, heart diseases, and stroke. A recent study by Harvard University links PM2.5 exposure to sensitivity to viral diseases such as SARS-CoV-2.

While one does receive averaged or consolidated data from official air quality monitoring stations, that data is for the outdoor environment only. For indoor air pollution monitoring, a portable air quality measuring device, also known as a dosimeter, is more appropriate—especially when incorporated within a wearable or a smartphone. So far, PM2.5 sensors were too large for mobile devices. Bosch Sensortec now has sensors that make it possible to incorporate them into personal devices.

The Bosch PM2.5 technology offers sensors small enough to incorporate within wearables and smartphones for measuring the daily exposure of a person to PM. The person can see data and trends of local pollution levels to which they are exposing themselves, and take appropriate actions to minimize their exposure for improving their health and well-being.

BreezoMeter uses PM2.5 sensor technology from Bosch Sensortec to make PM2.5 Dosimeters. They also offer an app for the Dosimeter that collates local data measured by the Bosch PM2.5 sensor and the air pollution data from the BreezoMeter to calculate and display the personal daily PM exposure.

Conventionally, PM sensors rely on a fan to draw air through a cell, where optical arrangements count the particulate matter and calculate the concentration per unit of volume. This arrangement requires the sensor to be the size of a matchbox, incapable of incorporating within a smartphone.

PM2.5 sensor technology that Bosch Sensortec has developed functions on natural ambient airflow. The principle is rather like a camera, with three lasers integrated behind a glass cover. To prevent damage to the user, Bosch uses Class 1 lasers that are eye-safe. The entire arrangement is flat enough like a smartphone camera is, making it easier to incorporate within one, and using only 0.2% of the volume of air that other solutions on the market typically use.

Wireless Charging for Drones

Drones face a significant operating challenge—their limited battery capacity places a constraint on their flight time. More flexible and efficient recharging solutions can address this issue. A 4-year old startup, WiBotic, now has funding to explore this avenue. WiBotic designs and manufactures solutions to charge robot and drone batteries.

WiBotic offers power optimization and wireless charging solutions for mobile, aerial, marine, and industrial robots. Their Adaptive Matching technology is a new method for inductive power transfer. The company is providing power levels necessary for charging flying devices such as drones.

Software libraries monitor battery charge parameters in detail for providing optimization solutions. Combined with wireless charging hardware, the strategic deployment of these software features helps with the optimization of drone uptime. Wireless charging solutions from WiBotic also schedule the recharge, allowing multiple drones to charge from the same transmitter at various times.

Nikola Tesla was the first to demonstrate, in the late nineteenth century, the use of electromagnetic fields as a source of electricity transfer without wires. Although engineers are aware of the wireless methodology, the design of an entire system consisting of transmitters and receivers, their locations, and maximizing their efficiency is a complex challenge requiring specific skills. Most wireless power transfer systems use inductive coupling or magnetic resonance with their individual strengths and weaknesses.

Inductive coupling is the most common method, usually found on consumer devices. However, they are efficient only when the transmitter and the receiver antennas are close together. Therefore, this method is not suitable for drones and robots as they cannot position themselves so that their inductive systems are close enough to provide a reliable power transfer.

The technology of magnetic resonance is one of the latest providing more flexibility in positioning. Most magnetic resonance systems have a special area for delivering power with maximum efficiency. If the robot or the drone stops in this area only briefly or remains off-center, the charging efficiency reduces, and the charging time increases.

WiBotic technology incorporates the best of both systems and operates on the strengths of both resonant and inductive systems. They have a patented Adaptive Matching system to constantly monitor relative antenna positions, while dynamically adjusting both hardware and firmware parameters for maintaining maximum efficiency. This ensures delivery of high-power levels and reliable charging, even when several centimeters of angular, horizontal, or vertical offsets separate the transmitter and the receiver.

For drones, the WiBotic wireless charging station is a square platform of about 3 ft x 3 ft. It has an intelligent induction plate that determines the type of battery the drone has and establishes the proper charging parameters for it.

WiBotic wireless charging systems all have four primary hardware components—the transmitter antenna coil, the receiver antenna coil, the on-board charging unit, and the transmitter unit.

Using an AC source, the transmitting unit produces a high-frequency wireless signal, that travels to the transmitting antenna coil and generates electric and magnetic fields.

The transmitter unit has the capability to recognize an incoming drone equipped with a receiver antenna coil, which automatically activates itself to receive the right amount of energy.