Power management systems electrical power-management product

The Currawong Engineering Cortex Hybrid Power System (CHPS) is a PMU module, a power management unit for small hybrid-electric UAVs that combines a generator, a battery and the aircraft electrical loads in one compact unit. It is offered in two sizes, CHPS-MQ for up to 750 W and CHPS-MX for up to 1500 W, and both operate across an input range of 20 V to 60 V.

The unit takes power from the engine-driven generator, from the battery, or from both at once, and shifts the balance as the load changes. Short high-current demands are covered by the battery while the generator carries the steady load. It also performs engine starting: the battery drives the three-phase starter generator to crank the engine on a remote command, and the same hardware keeps the engine running through transients or poor fuelling by supplementing it with battery energy.

A power-limiting function keeps the generator and engine inside safe operating limits. At low engine speed, where drawing too much electrical power could stall the engine, the controller makes up the difference from the battery. When surplus generator energy is available, an integrated regulated charger tops up the external battery. Battery voltage is configurable from 24 V (6S) up to 56 V (14S), so the unit can work from a single high-voltage pack, which suits quad-plane layouts where the VTOL battery also starts the engine and is recharged once the aircraft is flying.

For the avionics, CHPS provides three independent regulated output rails, plus an unregulated high-voltage rail that can feed external power regulation. A shore power input supplies the full set of regulated rails and charges the battery while the aircraft is on the ground, preventing battery discharge during ground operation. The fail-safe design keeps power available from the connected battery.

Command, control and telemetry run over CAN bus, using either DroneCAN or PiccoloCAN, or over RS-232 and UART serial links. This lets the unit connect to common autopilots and flight computers, and it reports generator power limiting and battery charging state back to the host. Dimensions are 120 x 78 x 20.4 mm and 188 g for the CHPS-MQ (part number CE2337), and 160 x 97 x 26 mm and 310 g for the CHPS-MX (part number CE2626).

Typical applications are fixed-wing and quad-plane UAVs with a small hybrid engine and generator, where weight and volume are tight and the same unit must start the engine, supply payload and avionics rails and manage the battery.