Power for Microsystems Strategic Technology Initiative Report on MAST Mission Power Requirements

摘要

The development of Micro Autonomous Systems faces numerous technical hurdles. Beyond fundamental questions about locomotion at small scales and cooperative group behaviors is an ever-increasing need for efficiency and power, as each additional function on the system will require a finite amount of energy to execute its task. This report analyzes some of the basic power requirements for a mobile Microsystem in the context of a hypothetical military mission profile. The needs for various locomotion modalities, as well as system sizes, are compared with existing or emerging power sources to determine feasibility. A survey of systems being developed under the Micro Autonomous Systems and Technologies (MAST) Collaborative Technologies Alliance (CTA) is included to give the reader a concept of the breadth of power-consuming devices envisioned for future platforms.