Powering the Robot
The new Lithium Polymer batteries that we bought arrived a few days ago, so I started thinking about how we would power the NUC for any extended period of time.
After some quick research on the internet, I found that at absolute worst case scenario the NUC draws around 2.5 amps. We were considering powering everything with a couple of Lithium Polymer batteries, but if a single 1000 mAh battery connected to just the computer we’d get around 24 minutes at absolute worst case scenario.
1000 mAh / 2500 mA = 0.4 hours
0.4 hours * 60 = 24 minutes
Obviously connecting more batteries in serial will give us more power, but I’m not completely sure if you can.
EDIT: you can, but connecting more than one LiPo in series is sketchy at best – I’m not really willing to risk it.
Powering the Briefcase Controller
Aaron suggested that we use a UPS, which will allow us to connect the display, PC, POE Injector with the Australian standard plugs, which we all think is a fantastic idea… if it fits in the briefcase. Otherwise, we might have to MacGyver something on the top with some duct tape and zip ties.