Skycharge system
The Skycharge system is an automatic and highly programmable charging technology and system that leverages contact detection, precise power control, and a unique PLC-based data link. The Skycharge system can be connected to a variety of docking systems, including all sorts of contacts, conductive charging pads, and custom docking systems. All our products are engineered and made in Germany.
Hardware
The Skycharge system consists of two components: the charge source, hereinafter referred as to "source”, and the charge sink, hereinafter referred to as "sink".
The source is responsible for the power management, sink detection on the output terminals, charging process management, power line communication with the sink, and communication with an external network.
The sink is responsible for two main functionalities:
Detection: when connected to any of the 9 terminals of the source, the polarity is correctly determined and charging can be started with full power.
Reverse current protection: current flow towards the battery and never towards the charger, thus, when connected to the battery, the battery voltage is never exposed on the sink terminals connected to the source contacts, which is highly important for safety.
The sink comes in two variants: LIGHT and PLC. In its PLC variant, the sink has additional support for power line communication (PLC) with the source, sink identification, storage of battery characteristics, and UART communication with a BMS board or smart battery. With the PLC sink, the source has the ability to immediately access all battery information and dynamically adapt its charging profile based on your application requirements, type of battery, state of charge (SoC), and state of health (SoH).
Why are there two sink boards at all? Clients with medium and large drone platforms usually prefer high currents and PLC. Clients with smaller drones, on the other end, tend to optimize for weight and footprint. Below is a brief description of the Skycharge systems.
Skycharge Source 750W
Power management by precise PSU control
Controllable wide range charging voltage: 11-57VDC
Controllable wide range charging current: 0.1-15A
Voltage and current measurements with 0.01 resolution
Temperature monitoring
Supports up to 9 output charging terminals for building complex charging surfaces
Multicore cable with support for up to 9 charging terminals
Sink detection with low voltage and limited current on any of the 9 output terminals
Short circuit protection for up to 9 output terminals
ETH port for remote management: by default, BeagleBone Black is used as a Linux computer board for providing reach interface and charge monitoring of the source.
IP55 aluminum alloy enclosure
Dimensions: 410 mm x 315 mm x 150 mm
Weight with enclosure: 8.4 Kg
Skycharge source 1500W
30V Variant
controllable range charging voltage: 9.6-30VDC
60V Variant
controllable range charging voltage: 19.2-60VDC
Power management by precise PSU control
Controllable wide range charging current: 0.1-30A
Voltage and current measurements with 0.01 resolution
Temperature monitoring
Supports up to 2 output charging terminals
Multicore cable with support for up to 2 charging terminals
Sink detection with low voltage and limited current on the 2 output terminals
Short circuit protection on the 2 output terminals
ETH port for remote management: by default, BeagleBone Black is used as a Linux computer board for providing reach interface and charge monitoring of the source.
IP55 aluminum alloy enclosure
Dimensions: 410 mm x 315 mm x 150 mm
Weight with enclosure: 8.4 Kg
Skycharge sink LIGHT/PLC
Reverse current protection: current flows only to the battery
Protection from inductive load
LIGHT variant
Charging current up to 20A max
Passive charging settings: charging settings are stored on the source board
Weight: 28g
Dimension: 58 mm x 35 mm x 22 mm
Weight without enclosure: 16g
PLC variant
Charging current up to 30A
Active charging settings: charging settings are stored on the sink
UART interface for controlling external embedded systems from the source board (e.g. BMS, smart batteries)
Weight: 44g
Dimensions: 60 mm x 47 mm x 25 mm
Weight without enclosure: 24g
Skycharge UI - The Skycharge cloud user interface allows seamless monitoring of the charging process and historical charging data storage.
Software
The charging process can be easily monitored and controlled by a set of utilities, which are open-sourced and the repository can be found on the Skycharge GitHub page [https://github.com/Skycharge/libskycharge].
The UART interface, as well as the TCP/IP protocol of the source, are also open, and the following software features should be highlighted:
Passthrough of user data from source to sink over the PLC —> possibility to connect and control a BMS, smart battery, or any embedded system on the sink/battery side
Source and sink firmware upgrade
Different types of connectivity: in local network or via Skycharge cloud SDK and UI
Different supported protocols and transports for charging control and management: UART, REST, ZMQ
Docking systems
The Skycharge system can be connected to a variety of contact solutions, including charging contacts, charging pads, docking systems, and your own contact solution. Below are contact solutions developed by Skycharge which are ready to be connected to any Skycharge system.
CONDUCTIVE TILES
CONDUCTIVE TILES represent one of the simplest docking solutions for implementation. Lightweight, uncomplicated, cost-effective, and can be customized to suit various drones.
30A Max. current
Charging tiles:
Inox steel material
4 supporting screws
Contact unit:
Modular mount
Nylon 12 material
BOLOGNINI S1
BOLOGNINI S1 serves as a docking solution designed to facilitate cross-platform docking without the need for a specific heading, and it can accommodate landing errors of up to 200mm.
15A Max. current
Land with any orientation
Support for different drone sizes and models
Materials:
Platform: Inox steel and PVC material
Contact unit: Aluminum or carbon material