Rudimentary all-in-one Power Distribution Board (PDB) and logic carrier designed for small 6-wheel rovers with a 4-DoF robotic arm.
- Dimensions: 97.0 x 77.4 mm
- Power Input: 6S LiPo (22.2V nominal, 25.2V max) via XT60.
- Power Tree:
- 12V @ 30A: High-current rail for BLDC/DC Main Drive motors. External module attached through XT30 connectors
- 7.5V @ 5A: Dedicated HV Servo rail (Optimized for 7.4V nominal servos). External module attached through XT30 connectors
- 5.1V @ 5A: On-board stabilized logic power for Pi 5 and peripherals. 3V3 Using Pico's built-in regulator.
- Processing:
- Dual-core architecture: Raspberry Pi 5 (Thinking) + Pi Pico 2 (Doing).
- High-speed UART communication bridge.
- Actuation & Sensing:
- 6x PWM Encoder inputs.
- 6x PWM-Controlled DC motor driver headers.
- 4x High-Torque Servo ports with localized bulk capacitance.
- Integrated 6S Battery Fuel Gauge (Voltage Divider + ADC).
The internal voltage divider uses a 100kΩ (Top) and 13.7kΩ (Bottom) 1% precision resistor set.
- Max Input: 25.2V
- ADC Output: ~3.03V
- Safety Factor: 10% headroom to prevent Pico ADC overvoltage.
The Pi 5 and Pico 2 communicate via UART.
- Baud Rate: 115200 (Default)
- Pinout: Pi GPIO 14/15 <-> Pico GPIO 0/1.
- Thermal Reliefs: High-current pads (XT60, Regulators, Motors) have thermal reliefs DISABLED. Use a high-power chisel-tip iron and pre-heat the board to 100°C for assembly.
- Capacitors: Ensure C1 & C2 (2000uF) is rated for 50V minimum.
- USB Isolation: Always use a USB isolator when debugging the Pi/Pico while the main battery is connected to prevent back-powering your PC.
This project is released under GNU General Public License v3.0. Designed by Ilo Japar / HKU ROVER Team.