Resumen
This paper describes our best practices related to hybrid power system (HPS) development, with a focus on the specification development phase. The HPS specifications are based on the main development goals of our security robot, which place top priority on 24 h continuous operation on a single charge. Similar to human guards, security robots are expected to operate 24 h per day, seven days per week, but existing battery-powered robots cannot meet these goals. For long-duration missions, their operating times are too short, and their charging times are too long. As an effective alternative, hydrogen fuel cells are combined with batteries to hybridize the power systems of security robots. In this study, several HPS structures were comprehensively compared by selecting a one-stage series structure. Component specifications were determined based on the selected structure to achieve the main development goals of our security robot. To verify whether the determined specifications are valid, a HPS simulator was developed. The key operating conditions for the HPS were simulated, including overloading, terminal short-circuiting, and drive cycling. Under critical conditions, the behavior of the entire system and its components was confirmed. The developed specifications will eventually be carried over to the prototyping phase.