Unmanned Ground Vehicles

UGVs - On the Cutting Edge of Thermal Management

Thermal management of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) is more complex than other electronic equipment because they have to operate in harsh environments such as humid tropical rainforests or sandy deserts where moisture as well as dust and sand can compromise the reliability of the control electronics. Regular open enclosures are certainly not an option; instead they need sealed and ruggedized enclosures to also withstand hard shocks and vibrations.

Thus certain cooling methods are either out of the question or only possible with limitations. For example, in general liquid cooling it is possible to transport heat away from the component and cool it at another location with a larger surface and a better convection into the environment. Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) have the advantage of a good coolant flow of either air or water. UGVs in hot desert environments drive over hot sand with the sun shining on their top side-not the best conditions for any cooling systems.