A NOVEL MPPT CHARGE REGULATOR FOR A PHOTOVOLTAIC MOBILE ROBOT APPLICATION

The development of mobile robotics structures has recently become an area of great interest to researchers and industry. These robotics platforms should be, as much as possible, autonomous and self-sufficient, also from the energetic point of view. It is possible to reach energetic autonomy using a micro solar power system with rechargeable batteries. In fact, energy scavengers using small photovoltaic modules have been recently proposed to increase the autonomy and perform continued operation of embedded systems. On the basis of this fervent research activity, the aim of this work is to propose a novel smart and simple photovoltaic charge regulator for a mobile robot. Since low power photovoltaic panels have been used, optimizing the efficiency of the harvesting process and tracking the Maximum Power Point is needed to draw peek power from the solar array, in order to maximize the produced energy. In particular, in this application, a Fractional Open-Circuit Voltage method has been used to implement the Maximum Power Point Tracker. It has been chosen because, thanks to its simplicity, allows to reduce power consumption. Experiments will be reported to demonstrate the potentiality and the effectiveness of the adopted solution