The second-generation Merge Board is the effective power hub of the CUAUV Triton vehicle. Its foremost function is combining the power received from the vehicle’s two battery pods, and enabling the hot-swapping of single battery pods at a time without interrupting the power flow to the entire vehicle. The combined power bus is then handed off to all external actuators (four thrusters and two marker droppers) and to the CPU and sensor power distribution boards.

The merging circuitry continuously combines the power from both battery pods connected to it. If one pod has been drained more than the other and is at a lower voltage, the board will stop draining from the lower-voltage pod, and wait until the other, higher-voltage pod has drained drained down to the lower voltage, before re-enabling drain from both pods. The same circuitry allows for hot-swapping discharged battery pods for freshly charged ones. As long as one pod is connected, the vehicle will recieve uninterrupted power, allowing for prolonged operation.

Power provided to the markers and thrusters is switchable and is monitored for current draw by the board’s microprocessor. Each of these actuators is also fused with easily-removable, right-angled 8A fuses. The board is able to monitor the status of the fuses, and report to the computer if any one of them has blown due to over-current.

The secondary function of the v2.0 Merge Board is to provide RS-232 connectivity from the vehicle's CPU to the thrusters and battery pods. Since the highly-inductive, PWM-controlled load of the thrusters creates much electrical noise, these RS-232 signals need to be isolated from the thruster power lines. The Merge Board provides this isolation, alongside RS-232-to-TTL level-shifting before handing off these serial signals through a dedicated connector to the serial hub board.

A third function of the Merge Board is to act as the interface between the vehicle’s external switchbox and its inner electronics. This includes the vehicle’s main power switch, the kill switch, and the mission start button. If the kill switch is engaged, all power to all external actuators is cut indiscriminately. Individual actuators can also be enabled and disabled by the CPU over an RS-232 link to the Merge Board’s microcontroller. The merge board also passes on the switchbox’s “mission start” button command to the CPU.

A new feature in the second-generation Merge Board is that the marker droppers, which were previously managed by a dedicated PCB in the Proteus hull, now have all their associated circuitry and connectors moved onto the Merge Board. This integration of functionality frees up precious board space in the smaller Triton electronics rack.