Power transfer protocols
For historical, practical, and reliability reasons, SXD compatibles support a large number of methods for charging and power exchange. The major interfaces are as follows:
module | method | transceiver band(s) | physical component |
---|---|---|---|
coil | interface charging | BSMT, SODL | primary AC transformer coils (50 Hz or 60 Hz) |
Heavy-gauge copper coils engineered for high-performance magnetic induction as part of the DAX/2 design requirements. This replaced the original SXD 1.0 charging hardware; all surviving models were retrofitted. For information on the protocols used, see the source code of the _coil module in the main controller's system memory. Devices that feed power to the system via interface charging include:
| |||
bonds | environmental induction | CR | CR electromagnet tuner |
Light-gauge coils intended to allow the unit to recover energy from ambient magnetic fields. The efficiency of environmental induction varies between chassis designs; this is called induction efficiency and is a CSU parameter. There are a number of devices designed specifically to charge robots using this method, including:
| |||
bonds | environmental induction (attached) | CR | CR electromagnet tuner |
Environmental induction from registered ("active") devices attached to the light bus will continue to work even if the unit's induction efficiency is impaired. Devices utilizing this method include:
| |||
bonds | connected loads | n/a | direct connection only |
Although intended to allow the unit to act as a battery or power source for other hardware, the light bus "device load" protocol can be reversed, restoring power to the unit. Devices utilizing this method include:
| |||
bonds | direct access | n/a | direct connection only |
Certain devices directly provide additional charging interfaces through various idiosyncratic methods. These include:
| |||
– | battery protocol emulation | n/a | direct connection only |
The MISTIX Battery Charger for NS directly connects to battery devices that have been placed into it. |