Welcome to Power Systems!

Hey! Yeah you. Welcome to Power Systems (a electric subsystem as part of Univerisity of Texas' Solar Vehicle Team) Resources! Your go to place for Power Systems stuff and shenanigans. This doc should be the home to all of your questions and concerns relating to the tools, concepts, and quirks specific to Power Systems.

What is Power Systems?

Power Systems is a subsystem of Longhorn Racing Solar and the electrical backbone of the car. Our HV system distributes power from our battery to the rest of the electrical systems. As such, we are absolutely cricitcal to the correct functionality of the car. No other electrical systems can run without the work Power Systems is putting in.

Our domain consists of both hardware and software projects. As per our name, our hardware primarily focuses on high power Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs). As for software, we work a lot with Embedded Systems, so C and microcontrollers.

Here are some resources specific to Power Systems:

• Battery Pack Overview

• [WIP] High Voltage System

• 2024-2026 Power Systems Hardware

• 2022 - 2024 Power Systems Hardware

• Knowledge Database

Getting Started:

Electronic Design Automation Tools:

• KiCAD - Setting up KiCAD

Version Control Tools:

• Git - https://git-scm.com/

• GitHub - https://github.com/

• Setup - How to Git

Software:

• Visual Studios Code - https://code.visualstudio.com/download

• Windowns Subsystem in Linux - Setting up an Embedded Development Environment

Current Projects:

2024-2026:

• Big Brain Power Distribution Unit (BBPDU)

• Active Precharge Board

• High Voltage Redesign

• Battery Characterization Board

2022-2024 (Daybreak):

• Power Board Redesign

• Contactor Driver Redesign

• Supplemental Monitoring Redesign

• Battery Pack Redesign