Ernie's Christmas

Christmas was kind to Ernie.

He received a new mini-box M3 power supply, a mini-box Y-PWR adapter, and a Playstation PS3 controller.

The M3 power supply is for his on-board PC and is a small unit that fits entirely within the small PC case so less room is required within the body.  It also allows the original case lid to be put back on instead of a custom-made one.  The M3 power supply is superior to the previous 12v ATX power supply I was using as it generates a proper 12v supply rail, even when the battery supply voltage is below 12v.  The CPU is now running significantly cooler - probably due to the perforated case lid, but possibly also due to the cleaner and more accurate voltage supply.

The Y-PWR board is a simple ideal diode that can allow practically instant switching from the battery supply to the external supply for the PC power supply - this is the sort of "switch" that is used in a UPS so that the power can be switched without interupting the operation of the PC.  This will be integrated into a new power-management system I am designing that will look after the charging of the two SLA (sealed-lead-acid) batteries in Ernie as well as monitoring battery voltages and switching various circuit groups on and off.

The PS3 controller is wireless via Bluetooth and with the addition of a small USB Bluetooth dongle Ernie should be able to be remotely controlled.  This will be useful when transporting Ernie, or demonstrating him and using him as an entertainment robot - part of his intended function.  There is a ROS package for the controller and patching it into the ROS system on Ernie is apparently fairly simple.