Renesas Takes the Thinking Out of Battery Management with the Fixed-Firmware R-BMS F Range
Pre-validated firmware, adjustable via a simple GUI, and compact hardware delivery an easy solution for drone battery management and more.
Renesas has announced an all-in-one battery management system aimed at robotic, drone, and personal electric vehicle projects — complete with a ready-to-run pre-validated firmware, which it claims will "significantly reduce the learning curve" for developers.
"One of the biggest bottlenecks for designing advanced power management solutions is the complex task of firmware development and validation," says Renesas' Chris Allexandre. "Not everyone has the expertise or in-house resources to write their own algorithms. Our all-in-one R-BMS F battery management system eliminates this process and provides market-ready power solutions that work without requiring specialized technical knowledge of MCU programming or advanced battery management design."
The Ready Battery Management System with Fixed Firmware, to give the R-BMS F its full title, is designed for use with lithium-ion battery packs in either 2-4S or 3-10S cell series and includes a fuel gauge system, integrated RL78 microcontroller, and analog battery front-end for voltage, current, and temperature measurement — plus the promised pre-programmed and pre-validated firmware.
This firmware, the company says, delivers functions that maximize both safety and battery life, including cell balancing, current control, and monitoring of both voltage and temperature. While it's designed to be used-as and not modified, it includes the ability for developers to adjust internal parameters to meet specific requirements and to adjust for different cell chemistries — all using a simple graphical user interface, Rensas says.
The company has launched both the 2-4S cell and 3-10S cell in production volumes, with evaluation kits available for both the 2-4S RTK0EF0163DK0002BU and 3-10S RTK0EF0136DK0002BU now; the parts are also used in Renesas "Winning Combination" reference designs for a robotic vacuum cleaner, a wall-to-battery low-power energy storage system, and a USB Power Delivery (PD) battery and charging system.