Reliable robots
Mark Rutherford, CEO of Alexander Battery Technologies, on designing battery systems that support reliable robotic performance
Battery behaviour plays a central role in determining how a robot performs throughout its working life. Yet, it is still common for assumptions to be made early on, before engineers have enough information to guide accurate design decisions. Robots rarely operate under uniform conditions, and their power requirements shift with load, temperature, duty cycle and environmental exposure. When engineering teams understand these conditions from the outset, they can create battery systems that deliver predictable and consistent performance. When these details remain vague, the pack could be the first part of the system to show stress once the robot enters service.
BUILD THE PICTURE EARLY
The most effective development programmes start by building a realistic picture of the robot’s operating life. Engineers assess how long each duty cycle lasts, how sharply current rises during acceleration or lifting, how temperatures fluctuate across a shift and how frequently the robot can return to charge. This early definition influences every downstream decision, from cell selection and thermal design to electrical protection and enclosure layout.
A robot that runs continuously in a controlled warehouse may experience steady temperatures and modest vibration, while a platform working in semi-outdoor or industrial settings must cope with heat, moisture, dust, rapid load variations and sustained vibration. These conditions affect how cells age, how thermal management must be configured and how the control electronics respond during peak demand. If this information is not captured early, the design may perform well in a laboratory setting but deteriorate more quickly when exposed to real operating conditions.
Once the operating profile is established, development benefits from a structured sequence of stages. Teams make better progress when detailed requirements are agreed before design work intensifies, rather than refining the brief while drawings evolve. A defined design-review stage ensures that electrical architecture, mechanical layout, thermal management and protection electronics still match the agreed requirements, rather than being updated in isolation. A later cost-freeze point confirms materials, tooling and supplier arrangements, reducing the risk that commercial adjustments force technical compromise. These stages maintain consistency between disciplines and help prevent late-stage rework.
CHEMISTRY SELECTION AND DEFINING LIFETIME PERFORMANCE
Chemistry choice determines how the battery behaves under load, at varying temperatures and over repeated cycles. Lithium-iron-phosphate offers strong cycle life and stable thermal behaviour, making it suitable for robots that must operate reliably for long periods without complex cooling. Nickel-manganese-cobalt provides higher energy density, supporting compact designs or lighter platforms that must move quickly or operate in tighter spaces. Lithium-titanate enables rapid charging and remains effective at low temperatures, which benefits fleets requiring fast turnaround or those working in variable climates. No chemistry is universally superior; the most appropriate option emerges when duty cycle, mass limits, thermal environment and charging strategy are considered together rather than as separate choices.
Equally important is defining how much usable capacity the robot must retain at the end of the battery’s service life. Many platforms depend on consistent runtimes to complete routes or maintain production schedules. If the battery only meets that requirement when new, operators will experience declining performance, inconsistent shift lengths or unplanned charging as the pack ages. Conversely, if engineers build in excessive spare capacity, the robot carries avoidable cost and weight. Designing for a realistic end-of-life capacity helps ensure predictable ageing and alignment between laboratory measurements and field behaviour. Clear communication between robotics teams and battery engineers reduces misunderstandings around expected performance, margins and degradation.
MANAGING DEVELOPMENT WORK AND REGULATIONS
Developing a battery system for a robotic platform extends well beyond selecting cells and designing a housing. Engineers carry out simulation work, thermal modelling, electrical protection design, firmware development, mechanical integration, prototype builds and several rounds of validation testing. These tasks form the non-recurring engineering effort that turns a concept into a production-ready system. When planned from the outset, they allow engineers to test manufacturability, safety and performance in parallel, reducing the risk that changes in one area undermine another. A structured approach to non-recurring engineering also improves schedule accuracy and reduces the number of prototype iterations required.
Regulation is becoming an increasingly important influence on design. The introduction of the digital battery passport for systems above 2kWh will require detailed traceability accessible through a QR code. This includes information such as cell origin, manufacturing records, firmware versions and other process data. Incorporating traceability into the design ensures that compliance does not depend on reconstructing information after production has begun. Structured data also strengthens field diagnostics, supports audits and simplifies responsible end-of-life management. Although the requirement originates in regulation, it offers long-term operational benefits when implemented correctly.
Reliable robotic performance comes from defining the operating environment thoroughly, choosing chemistry based on evidence, following structured development stages and embedding traceability from the beginning. When these foundations are in place, the battery becomes a stable and predictable part of the system that supports consistent performance throughout the robot’s life. When they are missing, the battery often becomes the component that limits capability, causes downtime or increases long-term cost.
