High-density power modules drive the development of a new generation of mobile robots

Innovations in power conversion technology are revolutionizing robotics design. Today’s integrated modules meet the size, weight, power budget, and cost-efficiency requirements to move robots from factory, home, and commercial applications into a new world of imaginary possibilities.

We are at a turning point where robots will bring huge benefits to our lives. Some are taking orders in restaurants, others are doing security, and others are working on construction sites, adding precision to floor plans. Robots are everywhere. OLogic is playing a key role in the proliferation of robots.

OLogic is a design consultancy based in Santa Clara, California, with more than 15 years of experience helping customers bring large and small robotic designs to market by providing electrical and mechanical industrial engineering support and firmware engineering design. This includes expertise in power electronics integration, which is a major design consideration for mobile robots’ range, functionality, and charging capabilities.

“I think the main reason people do business with us is because they need our electronic design support for the robot they are going to build, and we have a unique perspective on this need because we have built hundreds of robots,” said d Laon, CEO of OLogic. “You can hire an engineer who used to work at a robotics company, or you can hire a manager to run us, and your whole project will be successful.”

OLogic has designed a number of robots for a variety of industries, including agriculture, smart home, and control. OLogic’s robotics customer base can be traced back to a startup that many consider to be the pioneer of mobile robotics in Silicon Valley. Willow Garage was known for its ability to stitch together off-the-shelf open source software from universities and other entities to help robots perform difficult tasks.

When the company dissolved in 2014, robotics software experts left in droves, and they later founded nearly every major robotics startup in the Bay Area. This opened up new business for OLogic to work with companies such as Savioke, Knightscope, Fetch, and Dusty Robocs.

“The real rock stars of the robotics industry are the companies that develop advanced software for things like navigation or robot algorithm tasks,” Larson said. “The electronics were added later. What happened was that people thought they could just buy all this stuff off the shelf and assemble it. That quickly became a shady plan.”

Prioritize power

Mobile robots have unique power challenges. The servos, actuators, data servers, communication systems and other devices that run robots have different power and power density requirements. Some are power hungry, while others may not run much. This requires power to be delivered quickly, cleanly and cost-effectively through power supplies.

The company presented OLogic with a method for building a power delivery network (PDN) for robots. Vicor's high density enables efficient power conversion and can be easily expanded, making it very adaptable.

"The part we've used the most recently is the Vicor ZVS buck regulator. We've used it in many parts of the mobile robot now. I never have to think: 'Oh, I need 5A or 10A at 12V, I'm going to build my own power supply.' I don't have to think about that anymore."


Dusty eliminates the traditional labor-intensive process of annotating building plans on the construction site, and robots programmed at the construction site can automatically complete the task. The Dusty FieldPrinter robot loads a digital version of the floor plan and then prints the layout of various features such as walls, doors, plumbing and electrical facilities on the ground.

Automating Build Layouts, Saving Money and Time
Dusty Robotics (Dusty) is one customer that worked closely with OLogic to optimize its power configuration. Based in Mountain View, California, Dusty makes robot-driven machines for the modern construction worker.

For centuries, the construction industry has used two simple tools to draw building plans: a tape measure and a chalk line. Even today, when architects design buildings using advanced 3D CAD models, the process still requires printing the layout on paper and taking it to the job site for manual annotation. The tape measure and process are slow and prone to human error, which can affect project schedules and budgets. According to Dusty, errors lead to rework, which typically accounts for 10% of the cost of a construction project.

“Manual planning is prone to errors, more than the construction industry realizes,” said Philipp Herget, co-founder and CTO of Dusty Robotics. “We’ve heard of construction companies going bankrupt because of layout errors. Dusty Robotics prevents these errors because none of the annotations are done manually, but by robots, with no mistakes.”

Dusty FieldPrinter is 5 times faster when it’s accurate

Dusty eliminates the traditional labor-intensive process of annotating building plans on the construction site, automating the task with robots programmed on the construction site. The Dusty FieldPrinter robot loads the electronic plan and then prints the layout of features such as walls, doors, plumbing and electrical facilities on the ground. It does this about five times faster than a human and to within the specified sixteenth of an inch.

This innovation enables the construction industry to work more like a digital manufacturer, increasing consistency, predictability and reliability while improving working conditions for the skilled workers at the heart of the building construction process. Dusty also helps builders improve efficiency when putting together prefabricated building panels, an increasingly common construction option. Unlike a hand-built wall, for example, which can be adjusted in real time, prefabricated building materials can only fit together in one way, which can exacerbate errors if not installed correctly.


The Dusty FieldPrinter makes the construction industry more like a digital manufacturer, improving consistency, predictability, and reliability while also improving working conditions for the skilled workers at the heart of the building construction process.

"If you can shorten the construction period, you can get it done faster. The sooner you get it done, the sooner you get paid. Time is money. In the construction industry, speed is extremely valuable," said Herget.

Powering the Dusty FieldPrinter Robot

Dusty's FieldPrinter is a battery-powered mobile robot that can operate for long periods of time in a variety of weather conditions. It includes a large number of different electronic devices, including sensors, drive motors and electric components, computationally intensive processors, and a printer, all of which have different operating voltage and current requirements. Therefore, a large part of Dusty's electronic design focuses on power conversion to power multiple components in an environment where the battery output voltage is constantly changing.

That’s why Dusty turned to OLogic to build the core of his robot. OLogic started out using discrete power solutions. But over time, the company realized they simply couldn’t design products that work as efficiently and thermally as Vicor power modules, and over a wide operating range. In addition, Vicor modules, such as the ZVS buck regulator, are extremely cost-effective for powering the device.

“Vicor ZVS buck regulators deliver 200 to 300W of power in a very small package with 97% efficiency,” Larson exclaimed. “You can’t design something like this from scratch and make it work well for the same price. So there was no reason not to use Vicor. It’s easier and faster than a discrete design. I don’t have to validate it, and I face less risk.”

Dusty is a complex robot that requires 12V, 5V, and 3V power supplies to operate at high power. Managing power conversion with a series of Vicor modules helped shorten the design process and ensure reliable operation across different operating ranges and temperature ranges (indoors and outdoors).

With long battery life and best-in-class power conversion technology, Dusty’s robotic innovation is helping the construction industry digitize, creating a single source of truth on the job site based on the digital model. Now, architects, general contractors, and each business partner no longer work from their own paper plans, but from a unified design marked on the job site. Being able to provide a digital layout increases coordination between these many partners, resulting in better planning, improved execution and faster completion times.

“Construction automation is increasing humanity’s ability to transform the world,” said Herget. “People used to use screwdrivers, now they use power tools. This simplifies the work dramatically. Our robot-driven tools help the construction industry upgrade and create better results while improving the working environment for skilled workers.”