Beyond battery power: future autonomy

Beyond battery powerFuture autonomy – removing a technology blocker

OFFICIAL© Crown copyright 2014 Dstl

3 May 2023

Beyond battery power


3 May 2023

Are we at a RAS ‘tipping point’ ?• component prices have tumbled• complex autonomy increasingly mastered• defence has many dirty and dangerous jobs

• widespread use of RAS in defence attractive• robots, people, one team

But …• big and powerful robots are dangerous complex, un-verified software• becomes unaffordable for small manufacturing scale products


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This makes small automata attractive to defence:• resupply with many small robots• patrolling, sentry, reconnaissance• perhaps up to man-sized RAS, safer close to

people than larger systems


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Unfortunately, incompatible with battery weight:• an hour or two operation just isn’t enough• high energy density batteries already have issues


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• not just a question of waiting for better batteries limited by the power density of active constituents not expected to improve much, even over 10-20 years

• this ‘small robot’ problem• bigger robots can use fuel cells and diesel/petrol generators• dismounted soldiers also have big problems with batteries


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Hydrocarbon power?• relatively safe compared with pre-mixed chemicals

Any other lightweight energy ideas?



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So what might be possible?

Literature suggests• photo-voltaic energy capture from flames• novel engine / generator combinations



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Detectability• future work-arounds a possibility• in phase one it’s enough to show how

noise or thermal signature might be moderated



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New digital manufacturing techniques• complex structures have become

inexpensive in small volumes• forming in plastics and metals, including

higher temperature plastics



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Maybe a single use ‘power source’?• wearing out in a day or two could be fine• usage model like primary batteries not re-chargeable?• but recycling must be viable - low environmental hazard


• RAS is (potentially) a big opportunity for MOD - if it uses smaller robots and not big powerful ones (Health and Safety issues)

• MOD lacks long endurance power sources for smaller robots; but we think they can be made

• we think the market is wider than just MOD, MOD RAS and ‘dismounted soldier’


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Beyond battery power: future autonomy

Engineering

Transcript of Beyond battery power: future autonomy