Analysis and Comparison of Power Distribution System Topologies for Low-Voltage DC-DC Automated Guided Vehicle Applications

Automated guided vehicles (AGV) or mobile robots (MR) are being used more and more in modern factories, logistics, etc. To extend the work-time of the robot, kinetic energy recovery systems are implemented to store the braking or lifting energy. In most applications, the energy storage system is a Li-ion battery, which is therefore subjected to increased stress and is also oversized. Super-Capacitors can be used in combination to solve this issue. In this paper, different power distribution systems are analysed and compared, using both single or hybrid storage systems (battery and super-capacitor combined). The comparison is both qualitative, using general system characteristics, and quantitative, using an efficiency/power density Pareto front analysis.