Autonomous test vehicles carry a lot of extra electronics: cameras, lidar, radar, computers and network equipment, added to a base vehicle and changed often as the platform develops. Hardwire PDMs power and protect each of these on its own output, and let the vehicle's computer control and monitor them over CAN.
Autonomous Vehicles
Switch, protect and monitor the cameras, lidar, radar and computers on autonomous test vehicles, with each sensor controlled over CAN and set up in software.
What it powers
- Cameras
- Lidar
- Radar
- Computers
- Network equipment
The problem with a sensor rack on fuses and relays
- Every sensor and computer needs its own fused, switched supply, so the wiring grows with each one added.
- A sensor that hangs needs its power cycling, which means someone at the vehicle.
- A failing sensor or a loose connector is hard to spot until it drops out.
- Every change to the sensor layout means a wiring change, across every vehicle in the fleet.
How a PDM helps
- One protected output for each device, with its own fuse rating, so a fault in one sensor doesn't take others down.
- Control over CAN: the vehicle's computer can switch outputs and read back their status.
- Current monitoring on every output, with low current detection, so a sensor drawing too little or too much shows up straight away.
- Data logging from 1 Hz to 1000 Hz, with logging groups triggered by a condition, to record what happened when a sensor dropped out.
- Changes in software: add a sensor or move a load to another output by changing the configuration, not the wiring.
Running a fleet
- Load the same configuration onto every vehicle, and password protect it so it can't be changed by accident.
- Store installation notes on the PDM itself.
- Lifetime statistics and trip counts on each PDM show how each vehicle's electrics have behaved.
See power distribution for vehicle and equipment builders for more on building in volume.
Fitting to a base vehicle
- Runs on 12 V and 24 V systems (4 to 32 V).
- A built-in data stream reports PDM data in standard or J1939 format, and DBC files set up the messages.
- A global cut-off turns every output off at once, for example on an emergency stop or low voltage. The built-in IMU can also trigger it on an impact.
- IP67 sealed.
Which PDM
- PDM28: 28 outputs, 200 A combined, two CAN buses for your devices, and 50 status LEDs so a fault can be seen at the vehicle. See the PDM28.
- PDM15/25/35 V2: 15, 25 or 35 outputs, 120 A combined, E-marked. See the PDM15/25/35 V2.
New to PDMs? See how a PDM replaces fuses and relays.
Other industries
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