Charging System

The Skycharge charging system is an automatic and highly programmable & patented charging technology and system that leverages contact detection, precise power control, and a unique PLC-based data link. The Skycharge charging 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 charging 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:

  1. 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.

  2. 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 charging 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 on the 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 9 output charging terminals

  • Multicore cable with support for up to 9 charging terminals

  • Sink detection with low voltage and limited current on the 9 output terminals

  • Short circuit protection on the 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 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

Datasheet download

Skycharge UI - cloud user interface allowing 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

>> Learn more

Compatible Docking Solutions

The Skycharge charging system can be connected to a variety of contact-based docking solutions, including contacts, conductive pads, TILES, BOLO S1 and other contact-based docking systems. Below are docking solutions developed by Skycharge which are ready to be connected to any Skycharge charging system.

TILES

TILES represent the simplest possible contact-based docking solution. Lightweight, uncomplicated, cost-effective, and customizable can suit any drone.

  • 30A Max. current

  • Charging tiles:

    • Inox steel material

    • 4 supporting screws

  • Contact unit:

    • Modular mount

    • Nylon 12 material

>> Learn more

BOLO S1

BOLO S1 serves as a docking solution designed to facilitate cross-platform docking without the need for a specific heading, and to accommodate landing errors of up to 200mm (up to 400 in its modular version).

  • 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

>> Learn more

Development Kits

For testing, prototyping, and custom integration, Skycharge provides complete Development Kits.

Development Kit BOLO S1

  • Charge Source 750W (MPN: SRC-750W)

  • BOLO S1 Multicore cable (MPN: MUL-BOS1)

  • BOLO S1 docking system (MPN: BOS1)

  • BOLO S1 contact unit (BOS1-CU)

  • Charge Sink PLC or LIGHT (MPN: SNK-15, CDETECT)

Development Kit Tiles

  • Charge Source 750W or 1500W (MPN: SRC-750W, SRC-1500W)

  • Tiles Multicore cable (MPN: MUL-TILES)

  • Tiles docking system (MPN: TILES)

  • Tiles contact unit (TILES-CU)

  • Charge Sink PLC or LIGHT (MPN: SNK-15, CDETECT)