Electrical infrastructure overview
Nova's electrical system contains all power and serial infrastructure to support the vehicle's sensors, actuators, and computer.
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Nova's power system takes power from the battery pods and converts it into regulated voltage for sensors and the computer. It provides 5V, 12V and 24V at different points. More information about Nova's power system. |
Serial
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The Serial interface board serves as the interface between the Nova’s computer and peripherals, including power boards, thrusters, and sensors. It is a USB 2.0 Hi-Speed device which provides 12 RS232 serial ports via one SMSC USB2507 7-port USB hub and six FTDI FT2232D dual-channel USB to RS232 adapters. Each of these ports goes to a 3 circuit Molex Microfit-3.0 connector. The SIB also provides a standard USB female type B connector for its USB 2.0 Hi-Speed uplink to the computer. |
Serial Interface Board Datasheet
Computer and Memory
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Nova uses a Commel LS-372 3.5" motherboard with an Intel 2.2 GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 2 GB of RAM for vision, mission and control processing. The computer communicates with its sensors and devices using a custom serial interface board. A Patriot Memory Warp II 32 GB solid state drive (SSD) is used for on-board storage. The SSD provides improved I/O speeds and increased storage over the CF cards used in the past, in a vibration resistant package. The computer runs a minimalist installation of Debian GNU/Linux. |
Tethers
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To communicate with the shore, Nova has both a wireless and wired tether. It will also have a Fiber optic tether for when greater distance from the control is needed, as in long range search missions. |
Switchbox
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Nova’s switchbox consists of the kill, mission start, and main power switches. Pulling down a breaker shaped handle disables the thrusters. The handle bar glows red when the vehicle is killed and green when unkilled. The kill switch utilizes epoxy-cast electronics, magnets, and reed switches for contactless actuation. The mission start switch uses similar components and functions as a momentary pushbutton. The switch glows blue when a mission is running. The main power switch is an off-the-shelf polyurethane toggle switch. To build this box, Triton's switchbox was rebuilt with more robust parts. More information about the Nova switchbox. |
