Battery Management System For Unmanned Electric Vehicles With CAN BUS and Internet of Things

Article
Battery Management System for Unmanned Electric Vehicles

with CAN BUS and Internet of Things
Ngoc Nam Pham 1, *, Jan Leuchter 2 , Khac Lam Pham 2 and Quang Huy Dong 3
1 Department of Microelectronics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication,

Brno University of Technology, Technicka 3058/10, 61600 Brno, Czech Republic
2 Department of Aircraft Technology, Faculty of Military Technology, University of Defence,
66210 Brno, Czech Republic; jan.leuchter@unob.cz (J.L.); khaclam.pham@unob.cz (K.L.P.)
3 Viettel Army Telecommunication Industry Corporation, 100000 Hanoi, Vietnam; huydq30@viettel.com.vn
* Correspondence: 243756@vut.cz
Abstract: In recent decades, the trend of using zero-emission vehicles has been constantly evolving.
This trend brings about not only the pressure to develop electric vehicles (EVs) or hybrid electric
vehicles (HEVs) but also the demand for further developments in battery technologies and safe use of
battery systems. Concerning the safe usage of battery systems, Battery Management Systems (BMS)
play one of the most important roles. A BMS is used to monitor operating temperature and State
of Charge (SoC), as well as protect the battery system against cell imbalance. The paper aims to
present hardware and software designs of a BMS for unmanned EVs, which use Lithium multi-cell
battery packs. For higher modularity, the designed BMS uses a distributed topology and contains
a master module with more slave modules. Each slave module is in charge of monitoring and
protecting a multi-cell battery pack. All information about the state of each battery pack is sent to
the master module which saves and sends all data to the control station if required. Controlled Area
Network (CAN) bus and Internet of Things technologies are designed for requirements from different
applications for communications between slave modules and the master module, and between the
Citation: Pham, N.N.; Leuchter, J.; master module and control station.
Pham, K.L.; Dong, Q.H. Battery
Management System for Unmanned
Keywords: unmanned electric vehicles; lithium batteries; battery management system; state of charge;
Electric Vehicles with CAN BUS and
controlled area network; Internet of Things
Internet of Things. Vehicles 2022, 4,
639–662. https://doi.org/10.3390/
vehicles4030037
Academic Editor: Weixiang Shen 1. Introduction

Received: 20 April 2022 Unmanned vehicles (UVs) are defined as vehicles without the physical presence of a hu-
Accepted: 21 June 2022 man operator on board [1–4]. UVs can fully autonomously operate with a pre-programmed
Published: 25 June 2022 plan or be remote-controlled [1,2]. Since the late 1950s, military UVs have been used in
multiple functions such as reconnaissance, surveillance, etc., to minimize human casual-
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral
ties [5–8]. In recent wars and armed conflicts, UVs have asserted their irreplaceable role in
with regard to jurisdictional claims in
various complex missions [7–9]. With indisputable advantages in operation, especially in
published maps and institutional affil-
iations.
combat and reconnaissance, UVs have recently become an indispensable element of each
country’s military and military doctrine [9,10]. Figure 1 shows examples of UVs used in
different militaries. Based on the environment where UVs move and operate their missions,
they are categorized into four main groups:
Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. 1. Vehicles moving in the air: Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Systems)—UAV, UAS;
Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. 2. Vehicles moving on the ground: Unmanned Ground Vehicles—UGS;
This article is an open access article 3. Vehicles moving at the sea surface: Unmanned Surface Vehicles—USV;
distributed under the terms and
4. Vehicles moving in the water column: Unmanned Underwater Vehicle—UUV.
conditions of the Creative Commons
Attribution (CC BY) license (https://
In each group, UVs can be classified by using various systems among which the
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/
most used one is based on the weight [7]. The classification can be also different between
4.0/). governments and organizations. Table 1 shows the NATO Classification for UASs. This
Vehicles 2022, 4, 639–662. https://doi.org/10.3390/vehicles4030037 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/vehicles

Vehicles 2022, 4 640
article focuses on small UVs, which do not require high technologies and costs to manufac-
ture and operate. Therefore, they will be more suitable for small militaries and militaries
of developing countries. Traditionally, small UVs are powered by internal combusting
Vehicles 2022, 4, FOR PEER REVIEWengines (ICEs). These engines are characterized by not-so-high efficiency, slight hysteresis
2
of dynamic behavior, and low power density in comparison with full-electric drives [3–5].
(a) (b) (c) (d)
(e) (f) (g) (h)

Figure1.1. UVs
Figure UVs used
used in
in different
different militaries:
militaries: (a)
(a) Vietnamese
Vietnamese combat
combat UGVUGV [11];
[11]; (b)
(b) Reconnaissance
Reconnaissance
UGV-PzV in Czech Army [12]; (c) Chinese combat UGV Ruizhao I and Ruizhao II [13]; (d) NATO
UGV-PzV in Czech Army [12]; (c) Chinese combat UGV Ruizhao I and Ruizhao II [13]; (d) NATO
UGV General Dynamics MUTT [14]; (e) Vietnamese UAV Shikra [15]; (f) Primoco UAV in Czech
UGV General
Air Force [16];Dynamics
(g) ChineseMUTT
UAV[14]; (e) Vietnamese
in PLA UAV Shikra
71st Group Army [15];
[17]; (h) US (f) Primoco
RQ-4 GlobalUAV Hawkin [18].
Czech Air
Force [16]; (g) Chinese UAV in PLA 71st Group Army [17]; (h) US RQ-4 Global Hawk [18].
In each group, UVs can be classified by using various systems among which the most
Table NATO
used 1.one UAS on
is based Classification
the weightGuide [10,19,20].
[7]. The classification can be also different between gov-
ernments and organizations. Table 1 shows the NATO Classification for UASs. This article
focuses on small UVs, which Normal
do not require high Mission and costs to manufacture
technologies
Class Category Weight Altitude Example Platforms 1
Radius
and operate. Therefore, they will be more suitable for small militaries and militaries of
Micro developing<2 countries.
kg 200 ft
Traditionally, small UVs 5are (LOS 4 ) by internalBlack
kmpowered Widow en-
combusting
CLASS I gines (ICEs). These engines are characterized
3 by not-so-high Desert
efficiency, Hawk
slight III
hysteresis
Mini 2–20 kg 3000 ft AGL 25 km (LOS)
ScanEagle
of dynamic behavior, and low power density in comparison with full-electric drives [3–
Hermes 90
Small 5]. 20–150 kg 5000 ft AGL 50 km (LOS)
Luna X-2000
Table 1.150–600
NATO UAS Hermes 450
CLASS II Tactical kg Classification
10,000 ftGuide
AGL [10,19,20]. 200 km (LOS)
Watchkeeper WK450
Class Category Weight Altitude Normal Mission Radius Example Platforms
Hermes 900 1
MALE 1 45,000 ft AGL
Micro <2 kg 200 ft 5 km (LOS 4) Black Widow
MQ-9 Reaper
CLASS III >600 kg Unlimited (BLOS 5 )
HALE 2 65,000 ft AGL RQ-4 Global
Desert Hawk Hawk
III
Mini
Strike/Combat 2–20 kg 3000 ft 65,000
AGL 3ft AGL 25 km (LOS)
CLASS I ScanEagle
1 MALE—Medium Altitude Long Endurance. 2 HALE—High Altitude Long Endurance. 3 AGL—Above Ground
Hermes 90
Small Level.20–150 kg of Sight.
4 LOS—Line 50005 ft AGL
BLOS—Beyond Line of50Sight.
km (LOS)
Luna X-2000
In recentkgdecades, with increasing concerns Hermes 450
CLASS II Tactical 150–600 10,000 ft AGL 200 kmabout(LOS)environmental and ecological issues,
troubles of emission and noise caused by ICE must be consideredWatchkeeper WK450
by many governments
and corporations. Since the 1990s, electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid Hermes
electric 900
vehicles (HEVs)
MALE 1 45,000 ft AGL
have been announced as promising alternatives to ICE and got a lot MQ-9
of Reaper
development atten-
CLASS III >600 kg Unlimited (BLOS 5)
HALE 2 tion. They use a concept
65,000 of hybrid or full-electric drives based on electrochemical
ft AGL RQ-4 Global Hawk batteries,
Strike/Combateven fuel-cell [3,21,22].
65,000This trend in the transport vehicles has also been applied to UVs,
ft AGL
especially small UVs,
1 MALE—Medium to minimize
Altitude these above-mentioned
Long Endurance. 2 HALE—High Altitudedisadvantages of ICE 3[3,23,24].
Long Endurance. AGL—
Figure 2 showsLevel.
Above Ground the efficiency
4 LOS—Line ofofusing
Sight. 5Electric Vehicles
BLOS—Beyond to of
Line reduce
Sight. carbon dioxide (CO2 )
pollution. The scenario of comparison is presented in detail in [24]. The results show that
usingInElectric
recent Vehicles
decades, (powered
with increasing concerns
by batteries or about environmental
Fuel Cells) can reduce anda ecological
large amountis-
sues, troubles of emission and noise caused by ICE must be considered by many govern-
ments and corporations. Since the 1990s, electric vehicles (EVs) and hybrid electric vehi-
cles (HEVs) have been announced as promising alternatives to ICE and got a lot of devel-
opment attention. They use a concept of hybrid or full-electric drives based on electro-
chemical batteries, even fuel-cell [3,21,22]. This trend in the transport vehicles has also
Vehicles 2022, 4, FOR PEER REVIEW 3
been applied to UVs, especially small UVs, to minimize these above-mentioned disad-
Vehicles 2022, 4 vantages of ICE [3,23,24]. Figure 2 shows the efficiency of using Electric Vehicles to reduce
641
carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution. The scenario of comparison is presented in detail in [24].
The results show that using Electric Vehicles (powered by batteries or Fuel Cells) can re-
duce
of COa large amount of CO2 emissions. In the most interesting scenario, the equivalent
2 emissions. In the most interesting scenario, the equivalent amount of CO2 can
amount
be reduced fromcan
of CO2 787be reduced
g/km from 787 g/km
(Coal-to-Liquid fuel)(Coal-to-Liquid
to about 50 g/kmfuel) to about
(BEVs 50 g/km
in low-carbon
(BEVs in low-carbon countries—Austria, Sweden,
countries—Austria, Sweden, Norway, Iceland) [24]. Norway, Iceland) [24].
CO2 pollution comparision

500
400
CO2 equivalent[g/km]
300
200
100
Vs
ICE al n
co n rbo
igh rbo ca
h ca ow
Vs ium sl
BE d V
me BE
Vs
BE
Figure
Figure 2.2. CO
CO2 2pollution
pollutioncomparison
comparisonbetween
betweenICE
ICEVehicles
Vehicles(ICEVs)
(ICEVs)and
andBattery
BatteryElectric
ElectricVehicles
Vehicles
(BEVs)
(BEVs)[24].
[24].
2. Electric Vehicles Power Supply

2. Electric Vehicles Power Supply
The electric vehicles are based on the battery’s technologies providing power sup-
The electric vehicles are based on the battery’s technologies providing power supply.
ply. Batteries can be defined as an electrochemical power source that directly converts
Batteries can be defined as an electrochemical power source that directly converts chemi-
chemical energy into electric energy using an electrochemical reaction [25,26]. Because the
cal energy into electric energy using an electrochemical reaction [25,26]. Because the Car-
Carnot cycle dictated by the second law of thermodynamics cannot restrict the electrochem-
not cycle dictated by the second law of thermodynamics cannot restrict the electrochemi-
ical reactions, batteries can gain more efficient energy conversion [26]. The elementary
cal reactions, batteries can gain more efficient energy conversion [26]. The elementary unit
unit of a battery system is called a battery cell, which consists of three main parts: the
of a battery system is called a battery cell, which consists of three main parts: the anode–
anode–negative electrode, the cathode–positive electrode, and the electrolyte—medium for
negative
the transferelectrode, thecharges
of electric cathode–positive electrode, and the electrolyte—medium for the
inside the cell
transfer of electric
Battery charges
cells are inside
available in the cell shapes and sizes, and the most common shapes
multiple
Battery cells are available
are cylindrical cells and wound prismatic in multiple shapes
cells.and sizes,onand
Based thethe most to
ability common shapes
be electrically
are cylindrical cells and wound prismatic cells. Based on the ability
recharged, battery cells are classified as primary and secondary ones. Primary cells cannot to be electrically re-
charged, battery cells are classified as primary and secondary ones.
be electrically recharged and then, can be discharged only once. In contrast, secondary cells Primary cells cannot
be
canelectrically recharged
be electrically recharged andafter
then, can be discharged
discharging. Therefore, only
theyonce.
can beIn used
contrast, secondary
in several cycles
cells can be electrically
of charge-discharge recharged
(life cycles). after discharging. Therefore, they can be used in several
cyclesBy of connecting
charge-dischargemultiple (life cycles).
cells with (approximately) similar properties, we get a (multi-
cell) battery that is widely usedwith
By connecting multiple cells (approximately)
in the military as wellsimilaras properties,
industrial and we get a (multi-
commercial
cell) battery that is widely used in the military as well as industrial
applications. Batteries are packaged in various shapes, sizes, and configurations; and and commercial appli-
are
cations.
also classified as primary batteries and secondary batteries. The secondary batteries arealso
Batteries are packaged in various shapes, sizes, and configurations; and are also
classified as primary
called storage batteriesbatteries and secondary
or accumulators. batteries.
Primary The are
batteries secondary batteries
inexpensive, are also
lightweight,
called
and easystorage
to usebatteries
but have or lower
accumulators.
capacity.Primary
Hence, theybatteries are inexpensive,
are suitable for portable lightweight,
electronic
and
andeasy to use
electric but have
devices suchlower capacity.
as digital Hence,
cameras, GPS they are suitable
devices, for portable
lightning, etc. [26]. electronic
However,
and electric devices such as digital cameras, GPS devices, lightning,
secondary batteries are usually heavier but have higher capacity, higher discharge rate, etc. [26]. However,
secondary
and abilitybatteries are usually
to be recharged. As a heavier
result, but
theyhave higherchoices
are better capacity,for higher discharge
applications rate,
requiring
and
highability to beelectric
operating recharged. As awith
current result, they
long are better
operation choices
time. for applications
Obviously, in the areasrequiring
of EVs,
high operating
secondary electric
batteries arecurrent with long
the optimum operation time. Obviously, in the areas of EVs,
choice.
secondary batteries are
The secondary the optimum
batteries have been choice.
used for almost two centuries since the late 1850s.
TheirThe secondary
technology hasbatteries have beeninvolved
been constantly used forin almost two centuries since
two directions—using thesurface
high late 1850s.
area
Their technology
electrodes has been
and using constantly
advanced involved
materials [26].inThe
twofirst
directions—using
secondary battery, high which
surfacewasareaa
electrodes
Lead-Acidand cell using
with aadvanced
voltage ofmaterials [26]. The first
2 V, was introduced secondary
in 1859 battery,
by Plante. Onewhich was in
year later, a
1860, a series of nine connected cells was demonstrated by Plante for the French Academy of
Science. Presently, the most common Lead-Acid battery configuration contains six battery
cells in series for a combined voltage of 12 V. They are used widely in automotive SLI
systems, EVs, HEVs, industrial trucks, aircraft, and other applications.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, Nickel batteries have been developed and
used in industrial applications. With higher energy density, power capability, and other
advantages, Nickel batteries dominated the rechargeable battery market for aircraft engine
starting systems, communications applications, and portable devices during the 20th
century [26]. The most used types of Nickel batteries are Nickel Cadmium (Ni-Cd) and
Nickel Metal Hydride (Ni-MH). The NI-Cd batteries have significant issues with the toxicity
of Cadmium and the so-called “memory effect”. Ni-MH batteries eliminate these issues;
however, their rate of self-discharging is larger and increases with the rise of batteries’
capacity. Therefore, at present, Ni-MH batteries are mostly used in the pencil battery form
with low capacity.
The century of Nickel batteries came to an end when Lithium batteries were marketed.
The first Lithium battery in the market was launched by Sony in 1991 [26]. From the first
decade of the 21st century, Lithium battery technologies rapidly took place of the standard
power source in multiple fields [3,23,25,26]. Now, various types of Lithium are widely used
every day by people all over the world. The most common types of Lithium batteries are
LiCoO2 , LiFeO4 , and LiMn2 O4 . Lithium batteries are widespread because of the higher cell
voltage, longer life cycle, long shelf life, rapid charge capability, no memory effect, broad
temperature range of operation, and so on. Table 2 shows the major outstanding features of
Lithium batteries over their predecessor.
Table 2. Comparison of mainly used secondary batteries [5,22,25,26].
Voltage per Cell Energy Density Energy Density Self-Discharge

Type Life Cycles
[V] [Wh/kg] [Wh/L] [%/Month]
Lead—Acid 1.80–2.10 30–40 60–75 4–8 500–700
Nickel—Iron 0.85–1.35 50 - 20–40 500–1000
Nickel—Cadmium 0.85–1.35 40–60 50–150 10–15 500–1500
Nickel—Metal Hydride 0.85–1.35 30–80 140–300 15–30 500–1000
Lithium-Ion 3.00–4.20 >200 >300 5–10 >1000
Lithium—Ion Polymer 2.70–4.20 >150 >300 <5 1000–1500
Lithium Iron Phosphate 2.50–3.65 >100 >150 <5 >1000
Recently, the military, aerospace, transportation, and automotive industries have

shown an interest in the remarkable Fuel cells technology, which can support the capa-
bilities of existing battery types. In comparison with batteries and supercapacitors—see
Figure 3—fuel cells have limited power density but much higher energy density. The other 5
Vehicles 2022, 4, FOR PEER REVIEW
advantage of fuel cell technology is that it is a cleaner technology using alternative fuels
such as Hydrogen, Methanol, . . . [3].
Battery Comparing in Energy Density Battery Comparing in Power Density
4 6
10 10
2 4
10 10
Energy Density [Wh/kg]
Power Density [W/kg]
0 2
10 10
-2 0
10 10
lls s lls s
Ce rie ors Ce rie ors
el tte ors cit el tte ors cit
Fu Ba cit pa Fu Ba cit pa
apa Ca apa Ca
p erc p erc
Su Su
(a) (b)
Figure
Figure 3. 3. Battery
Battery power
power source
source comparison:
comparison: (a)(a)
inin energy
energy density;
density; (b)(b)
in in power
power density
density [3,7,23,26].
[3,7,23,26].
Fuel cells, as well as batteries, are electrochemical power sources that produce elec-
tricity by combining a fuel (electroactive material) and an oxidant. The main difference
between batteries and fuel cells is that the active materials for fuel cells are provided from
an external source that is not an integral part of the device as in batteries. Therefore, a fuel
cell can generate electrical energy as long as the active materials are provided [3,25,26].
(a) (b)
Figure 3. Battery power source comparison: (a) in energy density; (b) in power density [3,7,23,26].
Based on the types of fuel, fuel cells are classified into two categories: Proton Exchange
Based on the types of fuel, fuel cells are classified into two categories: Proton Exchange
Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell and Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) [25]
Membrane (PEM) Fuel Cell and Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) [25].
In PEM Fuel cell systems, electrolytes conduct hydrogen ions (H+) from anode to
In PEM Fuel cell systems, electrolytes conduct hydrogen ions (H+ ) from anode to
cathode. The fuel source; therefore, can be pure hydrogen or pure H2 or H2 generated from
cathode. The fuel source; therefore, can be pure hydrogen or pure H2 or H2 generated from
aa fuel
fuel reformation
reformation process.
process. In
In contrast,
contrast, the
the fuel
fuel source
source of
of SOFC
SOFC systems
systems isis oxygen
oxygen ions
ions
(O 2−). The SOFC systems have the advantage of having higher efficiency; however, they
2 −
(O ). The SOFC systems have the advantage of having higher efficiency; however, they
operate at
operate at high
high temperatures
temperatures (800–100
(800–100 ◦°C). Therefore, PEM
C). Therefore, PEM Fuel
Fuel cell
cell systems
systems recently
recently are
are
the most promising alternative to ICE and battery system in the automotive, military,
the most promising alternative to ICE and battery system in the automotive, military, and and
transportation industries.
transportation industries. Figure
Figure 44 shows
shows aa Hydrogen
Hydrogen PEMPEM Fuel
Fuel Cell
Cell system
system inin practice,
practice,
including its structure and power characteristics.
including its structure and power characteristics.
(a) (b)
U(I) and P(I) characteristics

10 3.5
9 3
8 2.5
7 2
Voltage [V]
Power [W]
6 1.5
5 1
U(I) characteristic
P(I) characteristic
4 0.5
3 0
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
Current [A]
(c) (d)
Figure4.4.Hydrogen
Figure Hydrogen Fuel
Fuel Cell
Cell system:
system: (a) Structure
(a) Structure and major
and major components;
components; (b) Hydrogen
(b) Hydrogen Fuel CellFuel Cell
system
system in practical; (c) Power characteristics of a Hydrogen Fuel Cell; (d) Fuel cell at various tem-
in practical; (c) Power characteristics of a Hydrogen Fuel Cell; (d) Fuel cell at various temperatures.
peratures.
The characteristics of Fuel Cell systems, as shown in Figure 4, are different from the
The characteristics
characteristics of Fuel
of batteries. Cell systems,
However, they areassimilar
shownto inthe
Figure 4, are different
photovoltaic system from the
while
characteristics
the of batteries.
output current However,
is dependent they are
on voltage. similar
The outputto power
the photovoltaic
then is thesystem
functionwhile the
of the
output current is dependent on voltage. The output power then is the function
output current. Therefore, like the photovoltaic systems, the Fuel Cell system requires a of the out-
put current.
power Therefore,
electronic processinglikeblock,
the photovoltaic
for example,systems,
Maximum thePower
Fuel Point
Cell system
Trackingrequires
(MPPT)a
controller, to acquire maximum efficiency. The mathematical model of Fuel Cell(MPPT)
power electronic processing block, for example, Maximum Power Point Tracking is also
controller,
an important to and
acquire maximum efficiency.
knowledgeable The mathematical
topic to design model of Fuel
an efficient controller. Cell is also
An example ofan
a
important and
mathematical knowledgeable
model of a Fuel Celltopic
can to
be design
found inan[27].
efficient controller. An example of a
mathematical model of a Fuel Cell can be found in [27].
Currently, the usage of Fuel Cell technology is limited by several barriers. The biggest
barrier is the high initial cost of the system since the technology has not been produced
on a large scale yet. The other issues can be the heat as a by-product, noise (mainly from
ventilation), and the limited operability under critical conditions (air impurities, freezing,
thawing, underwater, etc.). Figure 4d shows the discharge current of a fuel cell at different
Currently, the usage of Fuel Cell technology is limited by several barriers. The biggest
barrier is the high initial cost of the system since the technology has not been produced
on a large scale yet. The other issues can be the heat as a by-product, noise (mainly from
ventilation), and the limited operability under critical conditions (air impurities, freezing,
thawing, underwater, etc.). Figure 4d shows the discharge current of a fuel cell at different
loads with temperature dependence. The figure shows that while the differences in currents
at a certain load between 20 ◦ C and 50 ◦ C are negligible, the variances between 20 ◦ C, 10 ◦ C,
and 0 ◦ C are significant, over 10 times different for each value of current.
Regarding electrochemically power storage and ecological power source, in recent
years, there are increasing concerns about the Hybrid Renewable Energy Systems (HRESs),
which contain one or several renewable power sources and energy storage solutions such as
battery or Fuel Cell systems [28–33]. Such a combination can eliminate the disadvantages
of each power source by using the advantages of others. In such HRESs, battery and
Fuel Cell systems are used to store the generated power to create an autonomous mobile
uninterruptible electric power system. On the other hand, renewable power sources can
also be used as a power harvesting solution to increase the efficiency and operating time
of battery or Fuel Cell systems. Currently, in many countries, one of the most popular
Vehicles 2022, 4, FOR PEER REVIEWand promising renewable power sources is the Photovoltaic (PV) system [29–37]. Figure 57
shows the scheme of HRESs based on PV systems. More detailed discussions about these
systems can be found in [28–37].
Figure5.5.PV-based
Figure PV-basedHRES
HRESsystems
systems[33,36,37].
[33,36,37].
3. Design of Battery Management System
3. Design of Battery Management System
This article presents a design of a Battery Management System (BMS) for multi-cell
This article presents a design of a Battery Management System (BMS) for multi-cell
Lithium battery packs used in small electric UVs from the hardware and software point of
Lithium battery packs used in small electric UVs from the hardware and software point
view. The examples of electric UVs, to which the designed BMS is applied, are introduced
of view. The examples of electric UVs, to which the designed BMS is applied, are intro-
in [38–42]. One of them is a four-wheel UGV, which is designed to carry a jamming system
duced
with in [38–42].
a horn antennaOne[38–40].
of them The
is a four-wheel
power sourceUGV,of which
this UGVis designed
consiststoofcarry
threea Lithium
jamming
system with a horn antenna [38–40]. The power source of this UGV consists
batteries, each of which contains seven battery cells in series and a supply voltage of 25.9 of three Lith-
V,
with a capacity of 5000 mAh. The second one is a small quadrotor UAV designed to performof
ium batteries, each of which contains seven battery cells in series and a supply voltage
a25.9 V, with
variety a capacity ofand
of investigating 5000 mAh. The
studying second
tasks one is a small
in laboratories at thequadrotor
Department UAV designed
of Aviation
to perform a variety of investigating and studying tasks in laboratories
Technologies, the University of Defence in Brno. This UAV is powered by three Lithium at the Department
of Aviation
batteries, eachTechnologies, the University
of which supplies a voltage ofof Defence
11.2 V within Brno. This
a capacity 2500UAV
mAh.is This
powered
chapterby
three Lithium batteries, each of which supplies a voltage of 11.2 V with
also briefly presents the necessity of BMS on a Lithium battery system as the motivation a capacity 2500
mAh.
for the This
designchapter alsoforth
and sets briefly presents thefor
requirements necessity
designedof BMS
BMS.onAsa aLithium battery
theoretical system
basis, the
as the motivation
overview of the Stateforofthe design
Charge and sets forth
estimation requirements
methods for designed
and communication BMS. As
protocols a the-
used by
oretical
the basis,BMS
designed the overview
will also beof presented.
the State of Charge estimation methods and communication
protocols used by the designed BMS will also be presented.
3.1. Motivations and Requirements

Currently, the most popular battery type in portable electronics and EVs is the Lith-
ium battery, especially the Lithium-ion battery [43–45]. By means of high cell voltage and
high energy density, an individual Lithium cell can be enough to power a portable device
3.1. Motivations and Requirements

Currently, the most popular battery type in portable electronics and EVs is the Lithium
battery, especially the Lithium-ion battery [43–45]. By means of high cell voltage and high
energy density, an individual Lithium cell can be enough to power a portable device such as
a telephone, digital camera, etc., for a long enough operation time. However, battery packs
are necessary for applications that require higher supply voltage, higher discharge current,
and more energy [43–46]. In an ideal case, all cells of a battery pack must be identical.
This requirement is impossible in practice due to different conditions during production,
storage, as well as operation.
Other safety-critical issues of batteries include thermal issues, over-charging or over-
discharging, over-current, and so on [43–48]. Among these issues, thermal issues are
considered to be the most critical. Thermal issues can significantly affect the operation
as well as the life cycle of batteries [23,49–51]. For example, high temperatures can cause
combustion and explosion. From a scientific perspective, thermal issues significantly
influence the internal electro-chemical of batteries. In [44,50], authors showed the effect
of over-charging and over-current on the viability of batteries. The over-charging and
over-current also lead to thermal issues because of the increase in the Joule heat [43,44].
The over-discharging does not cause a critical hazard; however, a battery cell can become
a “dead cell” after extreme over-discharging. The over-discharging results in the internal
chemical effects effects
electrochemical which shorten the batteries’
which shorten life cyclelife
the batteries’ and safety
cycle and [48,52,53]. A more de-
safety [48,52,53]. A
tailed detailed
more and scientific analysisanalysis
and scientific of theseofissues, especially
these issues, from the
especially fromelectrochemical view-
the electrochemical
point, can be
viewpoint, found
can in [43–53].
be found in [43–53].
Multiple accidents
Multiple accidentscaused
causedbyby improper
improper operating
operating conditions
conditions of Lithium
of Lithium batteries
batteries were
reported; therefore,
were reported; a BMS aisBMS
therefore, required to monitor
is required and protect
to monitor andthe battery
protect theagainst
batteryirregular
against
operating conditions.
irregular operating The most
conditions. Thefamous one was
most famous thewas
one firethe
of fire
the of
Auxiliary PowerPower
the Auxiliary Unit
(APU) using using
Unit (APU) Lithium batteries
Lithium on a Japan
batteries on aAirlines B-787 onB-787
Japan Airlines 7th January 2013 [54].2013
on 7th January Figure 6
[54].
describes the exemplar
Figure 6 describes APU block
the exemplar andblock
APU the rest
andofthe
therest
APU block
of the APU in the accident.
block in the accident.
(a) (b) (c) (d)

Figure 6.
Figure 6. Boeing
Boeing 787 APU block
787 APU block [54]:
[54]: (a,c)
(a,c) Exemplar
Exemplar block; (b,d) The
block; (b,d) The rest
rest after
after 2013
2013 accident.
accident.
Because the goal UVs use many battery packs to power their components, the BMS
is designed in a distributed topology with one Master module module and and more
more Slave
Slave Modules.
Modules.
Each Slave module is responsible for monitoring an operating condition such as battery
voltage, discharge
voltage, dischargecurrent,
current,temperatures,
temperatures,oror
cellcell voltage
voltage of aofbattery.
a battery.
Based Based
on theonobtained
the ob-
tainedabout
data data the
about the operating
operating conditions,
conditions, Slave Slave
modules modules
protectprotect
their their batteries
batteries against
against cell
imbalance. TheThe
cell imbalance. information about
information operating
about operatingconditions
conditionsandand
thethe
state of of
state each battery
each batteryis
also sent
is also toto
sent the
theMaster
Mastermodule.
module.TheTheMaster
Mastermodule
modulewill willrecord
recordthese
these data
data to non-volatile
memory such as a microSD card. After that, it will send these data to the control station
for purpose of analysis in real-time according
according to the requirement
requirement of of the
the control
control station.
station.
The communication between Slave modules and the Master module is realized in two
ways—via
ways—via Controlled
ControlledArea
AreaNetwork
Network(CAN)
(CAN) busbus
or wirelessly. The The
or wirelessly. communication
communication between
be-
the
tweenMaster modulemodule
the Master and control
and station
controlmust be wireless,
station using the using
must be wireless, same 2.4
theGHz
samefrequency
2.4 GHz
as Wi-Fi 802.11.
frequency as Wi-Fi 802.11.
More
More detailed
detaileddiscussions
discussionsabout
aboutBMS
BMScan bebe
can found in in
found multiple
multiple other papers.
other In [55–57],
papers. In [55–
the authors also provided specific overviews and discussions about BMSs,
57], the authors also provided specific overviews and discussions about BMSs, their their necessi-
ne-
cessities, and functional requirements. The authors addressed the challenges for BMSs
and propounded future possible solutions for these challenges. In [58], the EMI issues of
BMS front-end integrated circuits (ICs) for EVs and HEVs are experimentally investigated
and discussed. The authors developed a specific test board to test the EMI susceptibility
ties, and functional requirements. The authors addressed the challenges for BMSs and
propounded future possible solutions for these challenges. In [58], the EMI issues of BMS
front-end integrated circuits (ICs) for EVs and HEVs are experimentally investigated and
discussed. The authors developed a specific test board to test the EMI susceptibility of
BMS ICs by direct power injection (DPI) and radiated susceptibility measurement in an
anechoic chamber. In [59], an interesting multicell-to-multicell battery equalizer was pre-
sented. The equalizer was developed based on a novel bipolar-resonant LC converter,
which supports flexible and efficient operation modes with stable balancing power and can
greatly improve the balancing speed [59]. The authors also provided mathematical analysis
and comparisons with typical equalizer topologies [56].
3.2. Theoretical Basis

3.2.1. State of Charge Estimation
Currently, there has not been any method to measure or compute exactly the State of
Vehicles 2022, 4, FOR PEER REVIEW Charge (SoC) of a Lithium battery, so the SoC can only be estimated approximately based9
on the parameters of the battery. There are three main methods to estimate the SoC, which
are [3–5,23]:
2.1. Battery
Open Internal
Circuit Voltage Resistance (BIR)
(OCV) method
method
3. Coulomb Counting Method (CCM)method
2. Battery Internal Resistance (BIR) method
3. Coulomb Counting Method (CCM) method
The OCV method predicts the SoC of a Lithium battery by measuring its open circuit
The OCV it
and comparing method
with the predicts the SoC
discharge of a𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆
curve Lithium battery by measuring 7 its open circuit
= 𝑓𝑓(𝑈𝑈𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 ). Figure
presents the
and comparing it with the discharge curve SoC = f U
typical discharge characteristics of Lithium batteries and shows the discharge curve Open Circuit . Figure 7 presents
the=typical discharge characteristics of Lithium batteries and shows Therefore, the dischargeit iscurve
𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆𝑆 𝑓𝑓(𝑈𝑈𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂𝑂 𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶𝐶 ) depends on discharge current and temperature. im-
SoC = f UOpen Circuit depends on discharge current and temperature. Therefore, it is
possible to achieve a precise discharge characteristic for estimation. In addition, the OCV
impossible to achieve a precise discharge characteristic for estimation. In addition, the OCV
method requires the battery to be disconnected from the external circuit. For these reasons,
method requires the battery to be disconnected from the external circuit. For these reasons,
the OCV method is not chosen for the designed BMS.
the OCV method is not chosen for the designed BMS.
Li-Ion Discharge Characteristic
15.5
Discharge Curve at 1A 25°C
15 Discharge Curve at 4A 25°C

14.5 Discharge Curve at 1A -10°C

Discharge Curve at 2A -10°C
14
Battery Voltage [V]
13.5
13
12.5
12
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
State of Charge - SoC [%]
Figure
Figure 7. 7. Battery
Battery power
power source
source comparison.
comparison.
By applying the second method, named BIR, the SoC is estimated based on the
By applying the second method, named BIR, the SoC is estimated based on the de-
dependence on the battery’s internal resistance. In this test, the battery discharges with
pendence on the battery’s internal resistance. In this test, the battery discharges with the
the current up to several hundred amps in a short time of some milliseconds. The internal
current up to several hundred amps in a short time of some milliseconds. The internal
resistance R of the battery is then calculated by Equation (1), where I is the discharge
resistance R of the battery is then calculated by Equation (1), where I is the discharge cur-
current, and U0 and U1 are battery voltages during discharging and after discharging.
rent, and U0 and U1 are battery voltages during discharging and after discharging. Hence,
Hence, the BIR method requires special gauging instruments that are highly accurate and
the BIR method requires special gauging instruments that are highly accurate and can
can operate under special conditions. As a result, this method cannot be used in our system.
operate under special conditions. As a result, this method cannot be used in our system.
𝑈𝑈0 − 𝑈𝑈1
𝑅𝑅 = (1)
𝐼𝐼
CCM computes the remaining accumulated electric charge by counting the number
of flowing charges which are the integral of discharge current over time. Theoretically,
the ratio of the remaining accumulated electric charge to the nominal capacity of the bat-
U0 − U1
R= (1)
I
CCM computes the remaining accumulated electric charge by counting the number of
flowing charges which are the integral of discharge current over time. Theoretically, the
ratio of the remaining accumulated electric charge to the nominal capacity of the battery
itself is the SoC the of battery. In practice, due to the non-ideal of components, circuits, and
technologies, the efficiency of the process is limited by the factor µ. For Lithium batteries, µ
can reach up to 94%. Given the initial state SoC0 of the battery at time t0 , the SoC of the
battery at time t is estimated according to Equation (2), where I is the discharge current,
and Q0 is the nominal capacity of the battery.
∑tt0 I × ∆t
SoC = SoC0 − (2)
µ × Q0
This method is the most suitable for the designed system because the necessary param-
eters can be measured with acceptable accuracy by the sensor system and microcontroller.
CCM is also the most common method used on portable medical, military, and commer-
cial devices.
The charging and discharging currents of a battery are standardized by the so-called
C-rate. A C-rate of 1 C is known as a one-hour charge/discharge; 0.5 C is a two-hour
charge/discharge, and 2 C is a half-hour charge/discharge [60]. Figure 7 shows that the
charge/discharge currents significantly affect the operation of the battery. Due to the
internal resistance of the battery, high C-rates cause high Joule heat generation, which may
lead to thermal issues. Therefore, the C-rate of a battery must be limited. For Lithium
batteries, the recommended limit is considered 1 C [60,61]. In [62], the authors conducted a
number of experimental analyses and concluded that the maximum C-rate could be 3–5 C
for anodes and 10 C for cathodes.
3.2.2. Controlled Area Network

Controlled Area Network (CAN bus) is a massage-based communication protocol
which is developed for the in-vehicle network in 1983 [63–67]. CAN bus network is a
highly reliable, inexpensive, and real-time network that allows multiple CAN devices to
communicate with each other. With an uncomplicated structure, as shown in Figure 8, CAN
system has great advantages regarding flexibility, ability to extend, and wiring cost [63,66].
In the automotive industry, CAN bus is one of the most common protocols for vehicle
monitoring and controlling systems [63]. Besides this, CAN bus is an excellent choice for
electrical work and communication in harsh environments [66,67]. The use of CAN bus;
therefore, has been continuing to increase in other industries, such as aerospace, robotics,
and automation instrumentation [67]. Due to these advantages, the CAN bus is chosen
as one of the communication protocols used in our design. As shown in Figure 8, each
CAN node contains a microcontroller, CAN controller, and CAN transceiver. In some
microcontroller families, for example, the ESP32 family, the CAN controller is an integral
part of the microcontroller. However, other microcontroller families, for example, the AVR
Atmega 328 family, do not have an integrated CAN controller but require an external one.
chosen as one of the communication protocols used in our design. As shown in Figure 8,
each CAN node contains a microcontroller, CAN controller, and CAN transceiver. In
some microcontroller families, for example, the ESP32 family, the CAN controller is an
integral part of the microcontroller. However, other microcontroller families, for example,
the AVR Atmega 328 family, do not have an integrated CAN controller but require an
Vehicles 2022, 4 external one. 648
Figure 8. Structure of CAN bus with microcontroller.

Figure 8. Structure of CAN bus with microcontroller.
3.2.3. Internet of Things
3.2.3.Internet
Internetofof Things (IoT) can be defined as a concept that describes a network of
interconnected
Internet ofdevices
Things enabling
(IoT) cannew forms of
be defined as communication between apeople
a concept that describes networkandofthings,
inter-
as well as between
connected things themselves
devices enabling new forms [68–70]. The 21st century
of communication is considered
between people and as things,
“Internetas
Century” since the Internet Boom affects every aspect of life. This deep
well as between things themselves [68–70]. The 21st century is considered as “Internet fact opens up
opportunities
Century” sincetothe connect
Internetevery
Boomphysical objectaspect
affects every to share information
of life. This deep[68,70].
fact opens With the
up op-
rapid development of related technologies, like information technology, computer,
portunities to connect every physical object to share information [68,70]. With the rapid and
computing
development technologies, as well as the
of related technologies, likecommunication and informatics
information technology, computer,infrastructure,
and compu-
over the past few years,
ting technologies, as wellIoT
as has become one of the
the communication andfastest-growing and most important
informatics infrastructure, over the
technologies in the Internet century. IoT allows the “Things”—which are in practical
devices, instruments, sensors, embedded systems, and so on—to become smarter and be
able to communicate with people all over the world via the Internet. People, using IoT, also
can monitor, and control Things wherever, whenever the via Internet. The most important
and interesting applications of IoT can be mentioned as:
• Smart Homes and Cities
• Healthcare Monitoring
• Environment Monitoring
• Automotive Industry
• Smart Industry and Agriculture
• Energy Management
Regarding the purpose of monitoring and sharing information, applying IoT to the
BMS is also a useful upgrade. The information about the state of batteries and operating
conditions can be obtained by a low-cost, simple system (in our case, a microcontroller-
based BMS). After that, the data can be sent to a more powerful workstation to perform
more complex processing and analysis.
3.3. Hardware Design

Slave Modules oversee the operating conditions of battery packs, protect them against
critical conditions, and send the information about battery packs to the Master Module.
Therefore, the hardware of a Slave Module contains 5 main blocks:
1. Control block—microcontroller, control the entire system to perform its missions;
2. Sensing block—sensor systems, monitor operating conditions of the battery packs;
3. Balancer block—electronic circuit, protect battery packs against cell imbalance;
4. Power converter—DC/DC converter, power the whole system;
5. Peripheries block—Auxiliary block, indicate, and display the state of system.
3.3.1. Control Block

In fact, the control block is a microcontroller. The reason is that microcontroller can
operate its functions based on a pre-programming plan. The functions of the microcontroller
can be easily changed by changing its program. The control block must have the ability to
communicate with other blocks to control their functions. This requirement is also easily
fulfilled by a microcontroller since it usually has several integral peripheral interfaces such
as I2C, SPI, UART, and so on. Another requirement that slave modules can wirelessly
send the data to the Master module is usually realized by using a dedicated wireless
communication module such as HC-05 and HC-06 for Bluetooth, or NRF24L01 for the
2.4 GHz band. In our design, the chosen microcontroller for the control block is the ESP32
family from Espressif Systems company, which has integral communication protocols
Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and ESP-NOW. This advantage of the ESP32 family allows for minimizing
the number of components. Regarding the performance, the ESP-32 family also has great
benefits with a dual-core 32-bit LX6 microprocessor, being clocked at up to 240 MHz, and
the ability to perform up to 600 DMIPS. The dual-core microprocessor allows the system to
operate more complex tasks at the same time and fasten the process of the system.
3.3.2. Sensing Block

The sensing block contains sensor systems that monitor the operating conditions of
battery packs and estimate the SoC of batteries. As mentioned above, the system estimates
the SoC by using the CCM method. Therefore, the important parameters that the sensing
block must be able to overview are battery voltage, cell voltage, charge/discharge current,
and temperature of battery packs. To measure charge/discharge currents, there are several
types of currents with different underlying physical principles, such as Ohm’s law of
resistance, Faraday’s law of induction, Hall effect, Faraday effect, . . . [71]. For the design
of Slave modules, the Hall effect current sensor ACS712 is chosen because of its small size,
large sensing range, low offset, and high precision. An application circuit of ACS712 is
shown in Figure 9.
For temperature sensing, there are three main types of sensors: thermocouples, ther-
mistors, and integral thermal sensors. Integral thermal sensors are easy to use with a
standard interface to communicate with microcontrollers, but their accuracy is lower and
the sensing range is smaller than the others. Although the newer technologies allow higher
accuracy, the cost is also higher. Besides this, the thermal couples are advantageous because
they do not require a power supply and have a large sensing range. However, their accuracy
is smaller than the thermistor, and the output voltage is usually in the millivolt range. Thus,
they require a high precision component in the output. In addition, the very large sensing
range of thermal couple is redundant for the BMS system. Last but not least, the thermistors
are the most suitable option for our system due to their large enough sensing range, simple
required circuit, and high stability. The thermistor is a thermally sensitive resistor. By measuring
its resistance (using a simple voltage divider), the temperature is sensed. According to the
dependence of its resistance on temperature, the thermistors are classified as:
• Thermistor with Positive Temperature Coefficient—PTC thermistor—resistance in-
creases with rising temperature;
• Thermistor with Negative Temperature Coefficient—NTC thermistor—resistance de-
creases with rising temperature.
Dependence of the temperature T (in Kelvin) on the thermistor’s resistance R is given
by Equation (3), where R0 is reference resistance (resistance of the thermistor at 25 ◦ C), A,
B, C, D are temperature coefficients.
2 3
1 R R R
= A + B × ln + C × ln + D × ln (3)
T R0 R0 R0
Under common operation conditions, the third and fourth operands can be ignored.
The equation then can be reduced to

1 1 1 R
= + × ln (4)
T T0 β R0
1
T= (5)
1 1 R
T0 + β × ln R0
where T0 = 25 ◦ C or 298.15 K is a reference temperature, at which the thermistor’s resistance

is R0 ; β is the standard temperature coefficient of a thermistor.
From the above analysis, the most important part of the sensing block now is Analog
to Digital Converters (ADCs), which are responsible for measuring battery voltage, cell
voltage, the output voltage of the Hall effects current sensor, and drop voltage on the
thermistor. ADC block is the basic feature of each microcontroller. However, the integral
ADCs of a common microcontroller are not good enough for serious applications because of
their low resolution and accuracy. Especially, ADC block with poor linearity is considered
as Achilles’ heel of the ESP32 microcontroller family. Therefore, it is necessary to use
dedicated ADCs to achieve acceptable accuracy. In our design, the MCP3424 ∆Σ ADC
is chosen. MCP3424, which is an 18-bit ∆Σ ADC with four differential inputs, has a
Vehicles 2022, 4, FOR PEER REVIEWgreat advantage regarding noise issues. Other remarkable features of MCP3424 are low13
consumption, highly accurate onboard reference, and an onboard programmable gain
amplifier. For communication with the microcontroller, MCP3424 is equipped I2C interface
with
and 2allow,
external device eight
therefore, address pins, which
possible can be
addresses. Theset to a logic high,
application circuitlow, or left floating
of MCP3424 is also
and allow,
shown in therefore,
Figure 9. eight possible addresses. The application circuit of MCP3424 is also
shown in Figure 9.
While the microcontroller ESP32 operates with a 3.3 V logic level, Hall effects current
While the microcontroller ESP32 operates with a 3.3 V logic level, Hall effects current
sensor and ADC MCP3424 operate with a 5 V supply voltage and 5 V logic level. As a
sensor and ADC MCP3424 operate with a 5 V supply voltage and 5 V logic level. As a result,
result, it is necessary to design a logic level shifter for communication between the micro-
it is necessary to design a logic level shifter for communication between the microcontroller
controller and sensing block. The simple logic level shifter using N-channel MOSFET is
and sensing block. The simple logic level shifter using N-channel MOSFET is also given in
also given in Figure 9.
Figure 9.
5V 5V 5V 5V 3V3 3V3 3V3 3V3
U1
CH1+ 1 14 CH4-
CH1+ CH4-
CH1- 2 13 CH4+
CH1- CH4+
CH2+ 3 12 CH3-
ACS712 CH2+ CH3-
CH2- 4 11 CH3+
CH2- CH3+
ACS_IN+ 1/2 8 5 10 ADDR1
IP+ VCC VSS ADR1
7 ACS_OUT 6 9 ADDR0
VIOUT VDD ADR0
6 SDA_5V 7 8 SCL_5V
FILTER SDA SCL
ACS_IN- 3/4 5 SDA_5V SDA_3V3
IP- GND
MCP3424-E_SL
ACS712
SCL_5V SCL_3V3
(a) (b) (c)

Figure 9. Circuit of sensing block: (a) Hall effect current sensor ACS-712; (b) Analog to Digital Con-
Figure 9. Circuit of sensing block: (a) Hall effect current sensor ACS-712; (b) Analog to Digital
verter MCP3424; (c) Logic level shifter using N-channel MOSFET.
Converter MCP3424; (c) Logic level shifter using N-channel MOSFET.
3.3.3.Balancer
3.3.3. BalancerBlock
Block
Basedon
Based onthe
thecell
cell voltage
voltage measured
measured byby
thethe sensing
sensing block,
block, thethe control
control block
block must must con-
control
trolbalancer
the the balancer
block toblock to protect
protect the against
the battery batterycell
against cell imbalance.
imbalance. The cell imbalance
The cell imbalance that is an
that is an
essential essential
factor factor
affecting affecting
battery life battery life canby
can be caused beinternal
caused and
by internal
externaland external
factors fac-
[72–74].
torsinternal
The [72–74].factors
The internal
can be factors can bein
a variance a variance in manufacturing,
manufacturing, technologies,technologies,
or storage.or The
stor-
age. Thesources
external external sources
can be the can be the
thermal thermalbetween
gradient gradientdifferent
betweencells,
different
whichcells, whichthe
can cause can
cause theself-discharge
different different self-discharge
rates of the rates of [73].
cells the cells
The[73]. The balancer
balancer is an electronic
is an electronic circuitcircuit
that
that balances
balances the voltage
the voltage between
between different
different cellscells
of aofbattery
a battery pack.
pack. TheThe balancersystem
balancer systemfor for
Lithium
Lithiumbatteries
batteriescan
canbebeclassified
classifiedinto
intotwo
twomain
maingroups
groups
•• Passivebalancer:
Passive balancer:thetheelectric
electriccharges
chargesfrom
fromaacell
cellwith
withhigher
highervoltage
voltageare
areremoved
removed
througha aresistor;
through resistor;
•• Activebalancer:
Active balancer:the
theelectric
electriccharges
chargesfrom
fromaacell
cellwith
withhigher
highervoltage
voltageare
aredelivered
deliveredinto
into
aacell
cellwith
withlower
lowervoltage.
voltage.
Obviously, an active balancer has higher efficiency since there is no thermal power
loss. However, the active balancer requires a more complex control algorithm and more
complex electronic circuit, resulting in higher cost and longer time to develop [73–75].
Therefore, the passive topology of the balancer is chosen for our design. The passive bal-
ancer uses Shunting resistors to balance the cell voltage. Figure 10 also shows two meth-
ods of passive balancer.
Obviously, an active balancer has higher efficiency since there is no thermal power
loss. However, the active balancer requires a more complex control algorithm and more
complex electronic circuit, resulting in higher cost and longer time to develop [73–75].
Therefore, the passive topology of the balancer is chosen for our design. The passive
balancer uses Shunting resistors to balance the cell voltage. Figure 10 also shows two
methods of passive balancer.
• Fixed Shunting Resistor: Each battery cell is directly connected to a similar number of
resistors. This method does not require any control algorithm, but it has continuous
thermal power loss and is usually used as overcharge protection in Lead-Acid and
Nickel Battery [75];
• Switch Shunt Resistor: Each battery cell is connected to the Shunting resistor via
a switch. The switches are controlled so that the cell with the highest voltage is
connected to the resistor while other cells are disconnected from the resistor.
The principle and design of a balancer block are shown in Figure 10.
1 A C 4
Controller CTRL1+ BAT1+

2 3
K E
CTRL1-
2
BAT1-
1
(a) (b)
Figure 10. BalancerFigure
block:10.
(a)Balancer block: (a)
Basic principle; (b)Basic principle;
Design (b) Design
of balancer circuit of
forbalancer
one cell.circuit for one cell.
3.3.4. Power Electronics Converter

3.3.4. Power Block Converter Block
Electronics
The power converter block converts
The power converterthe battery
block voltage
converts thefrom several
battery dozens
voltage fromofseveral
Volts dozens
to 5 V and 3.3 Vtoto5power the whole system. In the design, the power converter
V and 3.3 V to power the whole system. In the design, the power convert block
contains DC/DCcontains
converters (voltage
DC/DC regulators).
converters Based
(voltage on the operating
regulators). Based onprinciple, voltageprinciple,
the operating
regulators can beregulators
classified can
as Linear voltage regulators and Switching voltage regulators.
be classified as Linear voltage regulators and Switching voltage reg
A switching regulator, as its name
A switching implies,
regulator, uses
as its a switching
name element
implies, uses to transform
a switching the to transf
element
input voltage level into another voltage level. Because of switching characters, the output
input voltage level into another voltage level. Because of switching characters, the
voltage has a pulsed form and is smoothed by a capacitor, inductor, or more complex
voltage has a pulsed form and is smoothed by a capacitor, inductor, or more c
circuit. This property causes the main disadvantages of switching voltage regulators since
circuit. This property causes the main disadvantages of switching voltage regulato
it requires complex design and more external components, and the output is less stable
it requires complex design and more external components, and the output is les
with more noise. The major advantages of switching voltage regulators are high efficiency
with more noise. The major advantages of switching voltage regulators are high ef
with low heat by-produce and the output voltage can be greater than the input voltage.
with low heat by-produce and the output voltage can be greater than the input vo
In contrast, a linear regulator uses linear components to regulate the output. In some
In contrast, a linear regulator uses linear components to regulate the output.
situations, a linear regulator is also called a series of regulators because of this series
situations, a linear regulator is also called a series of regulators because of this seri
property—the input current and output current are the same. Therefore, the efficiency of a
erty—the input current and output current are the same. Therefore, the efficie
linear voltage regulator is equal to the ratio of output voltage to the input voltage. Due to
linear voltage regulator is equal to the ratio of output voltage to the input voltage
the required minimum voltage drop on itself, a linear regulator usually has small efficiency
and cannot supply thea required minimum
high current. voltage
The main drop onofitself,
advantages a linear
the linear regulator
regulator usually has sm
are simple
ciency and cannot supply a high current. The main
configuration with few external parts and smooth output voltage with low noise. advantages of the linear regu
Regarding the accuracy of the sensing block and control block, a stable supply voltage with low
simple configuration with few external parts and smooth output voltage
is required. Therefore, Regarding the accuracy
in the design, of the sensing
a combination of two block and control
voltage regulatorblock,
typesa stable
is supp
age is required. Therefore, in the design, a combination
used to achieve high efficiency and stable, low noise output voltage to power the whole of two voltage regulator
system. The used used to achieve
switching high efficiency
regulator and stable,
is an integrated low
circuit noise
(IC) output Step-Down
Switching voltage to power th
system. The used switching regulator is an integrated
Regulator LM2596 with adjustable output voltage. The liner regulator part contains circuit (IC) Switching
ICs Ste
Regulator LM2596 with adjustable
Linear Regulator AMS1117 with 5 V and 3.3 V fixed output voltage.output voltage. The liner regulator part cont
Linear Regulator AMS1117 with 5 V and 3.3 V fixed output voltage.
3.3.5. Peripheral Block and Master Module

The Master module has a less complex hardware design as it does not direc
form the measurement and equalization functions. Therefore, it contains only the
block, power converter block, and peripheral block. The control block and pow
verter block of the Master module and Slave modules share the same structure.
3.3.5. Peripheral Block and Master Module

The Master module has a less complex hardware design as it does not directly perform
the measurement and equalization functions. Therefore, it contains only the control block,
power converter block, and peripheral block. The control block and power converter block
of the Master module and Slave modules share the same structure. The peripheral block
of both Mater and Slave modules contains a display and LED diodes that indicate the
necessary information as well as a CAN transceiver and connector for communication
between individual modules. The only different part is that the Master card contains a
microSD card slot. The display and LED diodes are optional components and can be
omitted to reduce system power consumption. The CAN transceiver used in our design
is the SN65HVD230, which operates with a single 3.3 V supply for compatibility with the
ESP32 microcontroller. The communication between the microcontroller and microSD card 15
is performed via Serial Peripheral Interface (SPI). Electrical schematics for the connection
of all systems, without balancer blocks, are given in Figure 11.
Battery Management System - V1 - Pham Ngoc Nam Power converter

3V3
Display + microSD card Sensing block ADC2 ADC3 ADC4 ADC1
J1 Vcc Vcc Vcc Vcc
1
2
3
1 1 1 1
1 7 MISO GND 2 GND 2 GND 2 GND 2
DAT2 DAT0
CS SCL SCL SCL SCL
IP+
2 8 3 3 3 3
CD/DAT3 DAT1
MOSI 3 G1 SDA 4 SDA 4 SDA 4 SDA 4
LCD2 LCD1 CMD GND_1
4 G2 ADDR2 5 ADDR3 5 ADDR4 5 ADDR1 5
VDD GND_2
8 8 CLK 5 G3 6 6 6 6
CLK GND_3
RST2 RST1 DELIC1 DELIC4 DELIC7 OUT
IP-
7 7 6 G4 7 7 7 7
VSS GND_4
6 CS2 6 CS1 GND 8 DELIC3 8 DELIC6 8 DELIC0 8
5 DC 5 DC 47219-2021 DELIC3 9 DELIC6 9 DELIC9 9 Vt 9
4 SCK 4 SCK DELIC2 10 DELIC5 10 DELIC8 10 Vcc 10
2
1
2
1
3 SDI 3 SDI
2 3V3 2 3V3
1 GND 1 GND Vt
VIN+ GNDI
LCD1 LCD1
Vcc
RT
1K
2
1
5V 5V 5V 3V3 3V3 3V3 3V3

Control block POWER R14 R24
1 2 GND
TEMP SENSOR 30K 5.1K
temp.
DELIC0
1254-10SURT_S530-A3
VOUT+ GNDO
ACS712
RLED ACS_IN+ 1/2
IP+ VCC
8
200 7 ACS_OUT
VIOUT
6
FILTER
ACS_IN- 3/4 SDA_5V SDA_3V3
1
2
1
2
5
IP- GND
ESP-32 GTR3
LM2596_OUT
ACS712
1 25 IO0 4 3V3
GND_1 IO0
3V3 2 26 CS2 3 RX
3V3 IO4
EN 3 27 RST2 2 TX
EN IO16
4 28 RST1 1 GND SCL_5V SCL_3V3
SENSOR_VP IO17
3V3
5 29 CS1
SENSOR_VN IO5
IO34 6 30 DC PROG1
IO34 IO18
4
7 31 SCK
IO35 IO19 J9
SCL 3V3 8 32 NC
TAB
IO32 NC 3SG
R-EN SDA 3V3 9
IO33 IO21
33 SDI DELIC9
30K 1 1
10 34 RX 3 3V3 DELIC8 2 2
10K IO25 RXD0 30K
MISO 11 35 TX 2 IO0 DELIC7 3 3
GROUND/ADJUST
IO26 TXD0 30K
CLK 12 36 IO22 1 GND DELIC6 4 4
IO27 IO22 30K
EN MOSI 13 37 IO23 DELIC5 5 5
IO14 IO23 30K
CS 14 38 SIL-100-03 DELIC4 6 6
IO12 GND_3 30K
15 39 DELIC3 7 7 LDO 5V
GND_2 GND_4 30K
16 40 DELIC2 8 8
VOUT
IO13 GND_5 30K

J12
3
17 41 DELIC1 9 9
VIN
SD2 GND_6 30K

U5 18
SD3 GND_7
42 4 10 10
18259106 19 43 3 IO34
CMD GND_8 LM2596_OUT+
1
2
3
20 44 2 EN
CLK GND_9
21 45 1 3V3
SD0 GND_10
22 46 GND 5V
SD1 GND_11
1
23 47 CONN-H4
IO15 GND_12
IO2 24
IO2
ESP32-WROOM-32D__4MB_
4
CAN TRANSCEIVER
TAB
4
FEEDBACK
Vin+ 1
GROUND/ADJUST
3V3 VIN LM2596_OUT+

2 1 2
OUTPUT
1
LM2596
1
LDO 3.3V
ON/OFF
CAN_TX 1 8
VOUT
D RS
GND
CANH
2
2 7
VIN
GND CANH
1
3 6
VCC CANL
CAN_RX 4 5 CANL
R VREF
2
5V
3
1
2
3
SN65HVD230
3V3
Vin-
2
LM2596_OUT-
1
Figure 11.
Figure 11. Schematic
Schematic of
of BMS
BMS system.
system.
3.4.
3.4. Firmware
Firmware Design
Design
Functions
Functions performed by the
performed by the control
controlblock
blockare
arecategorized
categorizedinto
intotwo
two main
main groups
groups of
of functions:
functions:
•• Sensing
Sensing and
and protecting
protectingfunctions;
functions;
•• Transmitting
Transmittingfunction.
function.
Due
Duetotothethereliability requirement,
reliability these
requirement, two two
these groups must must
groups be independently performed.
be independently per-
The reason is that the instability of the communication channel can cause some
formed. The reason is that the instability of the communication channel can cause delays or
some
even the loss of some transferred data. In this case, the lost data must be retransmitted.
delays or even the loss of some transferred data. In this case, the lost data must be retrans-
Unless two groups of functions are performed independently, the collision will occur, and
mitted. Unless two groups of functions are performed independently, the collision will
the functions will not be performed as intended. This requirement confirms again the
occur, and the functions will not be performed as intended. This requirement confirms
advantages of the ESP32 microcontroller. This microcontroller has a special feature called
again the advantages of the ESP32 microcontroller. This microcontroller has a special fea-
ture called dual-core, so it is capable of performing the two groups of functions in parallel.
The first core, called Core 1, oversees the sensing and protecting functions. The infor-
mation obtained by Core 1 is stored in the internal memory. The second core, named Core
0, is in charge of performing the transmitting function. If the transfer is realized without
dual-core, so it is capable of performing the two groups of functions in parallel. The first
core, called Core 1, oversees the sensing and protecting functions. The information obtained
by Core 1 is stored in the internal memory. The second core, named Core 0, is in charge
of performing the transmitting function. If the transfer is realized without any errors,
Core 0 removes the transferred data from internal memory and transmits other measured
data. In the case of wireless communication between modules, the power consumption of
the ESP32 microcontroller with the Wi-Fi functions on is much greater than that with the
Wi-Fi functions off. Therefore, to reduce power consumption between successful transfers,
the Wi-Fi functions of ESP32 will be disabled. The simplified algorithm flowchart of the
microcontroller’s firmware is given in Figure 12.
Figure 12. Algorithm flowchart of microcontroller’s firmware.

Figure 12. Algorithm flowchart of microcontroller’s firmware.
4. Verification and Discussion

Verification and Discussion
The required
required functions
functionsofofthe thedesigned
designedBMS BMS areare
verified by by
verified several
severaltesting
testingandand
ex-
periments. Firstly,
experiments. the most
Firstly, the mostimportant
importantfunction—protecting
function—protecting the battery againstagainst
the battery cell imbal-
cell
imbalance—is
ance—is verified. verified.
For the For the testing,
testing, a prototype
a prototype of the of the Module
Slave Slave Module is realized.
is realized. The
The proto-
prototype contains a module of ADC 3424, a CAN
type contains a module of ADC 3424, a CAN transceiver SN65HVD230, a transceiver SN65HVD230, a connector
CAN232,
CAN232, and and aa balancer
balancercircuit
circuitforforaafour-cell
four-cellbattery
batterypack.
pack.For
Forsafety,
safety,the
themicrocontroller
microcontroller is
connected
is connected to to
thethe
prototype
prototype viavia
a prepared
a prepared connector.
connector. TheThe
prototype
prototype is shown
is shown in Figure 13.
in Figure
The battery
13. The is simulated
battery is simulated by abylaboratory
a laboratory DCDCpower
power supply E3633A.
supply E3633A.TheThe dependence
dependence of
balance
of balancecurrent
current onon cell voltage
cell voltage is ismeasured
measuredand andshown
shownininFigure
Figure14. 14. The
The characteristic
characteristic
shows
shows that
that the
the balancing
balancing current
current increases
increases with
with the
the rising
rising of
of cell
cell voltage.
voltage. ForFor aa Lithium
Lithium
battery, the voltage of each cell is in the range from 3.6 V to 4.2 V, and
battery, the voltage of each cell is in the range from 3.6 V to 4.2 V, and the balancing the balancing current
cur-
is in the range of 80 mA to 200
rent is in the range of 80 mA to 200 mA. mA.
Then, the
Then, the sensing
sensing block
block is is calibrated
calibrated andand its
its accuracy
accuracy after
after calibration
calibration is is verified. The
verified. The
experiment setupsfor
experiment setups forcalibration
calibrationand and accuracy
accuracy testing
testing areare given
given in Figures
in Figures 15 and15 16.
andFig-
16.
ure 15 shows the experimental setup for the measurement of current and voltage. A bat-
tery pack is connected to the BMS system and an electronic load. To calibrate the Hall
effect current sensor, the digital multimeters are also connected to the system to measure
discharge current. The value measured by a multimeter is considered a reference value
for calibration. To measure voltage, a laboratory DC power supply is connected to the
Figure 15 shows the experimental setup for the measurement of current and voltage. A
battery pack is connected to the BMS system and an electronic load. To calibrate the Hall
effect current sensor, the digital multimeters are also connected to the system to measure
discharge current. The value measured by a multimeter is considered a reference value for
calibration. To measure voltage, a laboratory DC power supply is connected to the BMS
system. The supply voltages measured by BMS are compared with the output voltage of
the power supply. All the instruments can be controlled by a computer using Standard
Commands for Programmable Instruments (SCPI) for automation of measuring. Figure 16
shows the experiment set up to measure temperature. The experiment uses a climate
Vehicles
Vehicles2022, 4,4,
2022, FOR PEER
FOR REVIEW
PEER REVIEW 1717
chamber to set the reference values of temperature, which are used to compare with values
measured by Slave Modules.
Indicating
LEDs
CAN transceiver + ADC Photocouplers MOSFETs + resistors

CAN232 connector MCP3424 (Passive balancer)
(a)
(a) (b)
(b)
Figure
Figure13.
Figure 13.Prototype
13. Prototypeof
Prototype ofofMaster
MasterModule:
Master Module:(a)
Module: (a)Top
(a) side;
Topside;
Top (b)
side;(b) Bottom
(b)Bottom
Bottomside.
side.
side.
Balancing Current vs Cell Voltage

200
180
160
Balancing current [mA]
140
120
100
80
60
3.6 3.7 3.8 3.9 4 4.1 4.2
Cell voltage [V]
Figure
Figure14.
Figure 14.Dependence
14. Dependenceof
Dependence ofofbalancing
balancingcurrent
balancing current ononCell
currenton Cell voltage.
Cellvoltage.
voltage.
Battery pack BMS system

Figure 14. Dependence of balancing current on Cell voltage.
Figure Experiment
Figure15.15. setupsetup
Experiment for measurement of currentof
for measurement and voltage.and
current voltage.
Figure
Figure 16.16. Experimentsetup
Experiment setupfor
formeasurement
measurement ofoftemperature.
temperature.
All the experimental results are given in Figures 17–19. By using calibrated coefficients,
All the experimental results are given in Figures 17–19. By using calibrated coeffi-
the errors of measurements are significantly reduced. After calibrating, the BMS has
cients, the errors
capabilities of: of measurements are significantly reduced. After calibrating, the BMS
has capabilities of:
• Measuring current with absolute error ± 50 mA
• • Measuring
Measuring current
voltagewith
withabsolute error± 1550
absolute error mVmA
• • Measuring voltage with absolute error 15
Measuring temperature with absolute error ± 0.1 mV◦ C
• Measuring temperature
The function withbatteries’
of estimating absoluteSoC
error
is also0.1 °C
calibrated and verified. After cal-
The function
ibration, of estimating
the chosen batteries’
value for the SoCofisefficiency
coefficient also calibrated and verified.
µ in Equation AfterThe
(2) is 94%. calibra-
estimated values of SoC during seven processes charge-discharge are shown
tion, the chosen value for the coefficient of efficiency µ in Equation (2) is 94%. The in Table 3. esti-
mated values of SoC during seven processes charge-discharge are shown in Table 3. The
data shows that with the proper value of efficiency coefficient, the BMS can estimate the
SoC with an error smaller than 5%.
Thermistor inside
Figure 16. Experiment setup for measurement of temperature.
All the experimental results are given in Figures 17–19. By using calibrated coeffi-
Vehicles 2022, 4 cients, the errors of measurements are significantly reduced. After calibrating, the BMS
656
has capabilities of:
• Measuring current with absolute error ± 50 mA
•TheMeasuring
data showsvoltage with
that with theabsolute error of
proper value 15 mV
± efficiency coefficient, the BMS can estimate
Measuring
•the SoC temperature with absolute
with an error smaller than 5%. error ± 0.1 °C
The function
Finally, of estimating batteries’
the communication betweenSoCBMSis also
andcalibrated andusing
workstation verified.
IoTAfter calibra-is
technology
tion, the chosen
verified. Figurevalue for the
20 shows thecoefficient of efficiency
user interface µ in Equation
of the application (2) is
Google 94%. The
Sheets. Theesti-
data
mated values of SoC during seven processes charge-discharge are shown in Table 3. The
measured by BMS systems are successfully transferred via the Internet to this application.
data
Thenshows thatwith
the users withpermission
the proper canvalue of efficiency
access these data coefficient,
wherever,the BMS can
whenever forestimate the
further uses.
SoC
Thewith
uses an error smaller
of other than 5%.
IoT platforms in the BMS system also were introduced in [4,5].
Measurement of Current - Before Calibration Measurement of Current - After Calibration

10 100 10 50
Maesured Value Maesured Value
Reference Value Reference Value
9 80 9 40
Error Error
8 8 30
60
7 7 20
40
6 6 10
Measured Value [A]
Measured Value [A]

20 Error [mA]
Error [mA]
5 5 0
0
4 4 -10
-20
3 3 -20
-40
2 2 -30
1 -60 1 -40
0 -80 0 -50
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Reference Values [A] Reference Values [A]
Vehicles 2022, 4, FOR PEER REVIEW(a) (b) 19

Figure
Figure17.
17.Measurement
MeasurementofofCurrent:
Current:(a)
(a)Before
BeforeCalibration;
Calibration;(b)
(b)After
AfterCalibration.
Calibration.
Measurement of Voltage - Before Calibration Measurement of Voltage - After Calibration

26 -20 26 15
24 24
-25 10
22 22
20 -30 20 5
18 18
Measured Value [V]
Measured Value [V]
-35 0
Error [mV]
Error [mV]
16 16
-40 -5
14 14
12 -45 12 -10
10 10
Maesured Value -50 Maesured Value

-15
8 8
Error Error
6 -55 6 -20
8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Reference Values [V] Reference Values [V]
(a) (b)
Figure
Figure18.
18.Measurement
MeasurementofofVoltage:
Voltage:(a)
(a)Before
BeforeCalibration;
Calibration;(b)
(b)After
AfterCalibration.
Calibration.
Measurement of Temperature - Before Calibration Measurement of Temperature - After Calibration

60 1.8 60 0.2
1.6
Error Error
50 50 0.15
1.4
40 40 0.1
1.2
Measured Value [°C]
30 30 0.05
1
Error [°C]
Error [°C]
0.8
20 20 0
0.6
10 10 -0.05
0.4
0 0 -0.1
0.2
-10 0 -10 -0.15

-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50
Maesured Value -50 Maesured Value
-15
8 8
Error Error
6 -55 6 -20
8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
Reference Values [V] Reference Values [V]
Vehicles 2022, 4 (a) (b) 657
Figure 18. Measurement of Voltage: (a) Before Calibration; (b) After Calibration.
Measurement of Temperature - Before Calibration Measurement of Temperature - After Calibration

60 1.8 60 0.2
1.6
Error Error
50 50 0.15
1.4
40 40 0.1
1.2

30 30 0.05
1
Error [°C]
Error [°C]
0.8
20 20 0
0.6
10 10 -0.05
0.4
0 0 -0.1
0.2
-10 0 -10 -0.15

-10 0 10 20 30 40 50 -10 0 10 20 30 40 50
Reference Values [°C] Reference Values [°C]
(a) (b)
Figure
Figure19.
19.Measurement
MeasurementofofTemperature:
Temperature:(a)
(a)Before
BeforeCalibration;
Calibration;(b)
(b)After
AfterCalibration.
Calibration.
Table
Table3.3.Estimated
EstimatedSoC
SoCvalue.
value.
Process Initial Voltage [V] Initial SoCInitial
[%] EndInitial
Voltage SoC[V] End End SoC [%]
Voltage Change of SoC [%]of
Change
Process End SoC [%]
Discharge 1 12.59 100
Voltage [V] 9.10
[%] [V] 2 98 SoC [%]
Charge 1 9.10 Discharge 1 2 12.59 12.61
100 101
9.10 2 99 98
Discharge 2 12.61 Charge 1 101 9.10 9.10
2 12.61 1 101 100 99
Charge 2 9.10 Discharge 2 1 12.61 12.60
101 9.10 99 1 98 100
Charge
Thus,2it is obvious
9.10that the designed
1 12.60 the requirements
99 98
Discharge 3 12.60 99 9.05 BMS fulfills all 2 97 acceptable
with
Discharge 3 12.60 99 9.05 2 97
Charge 3 9.05 accuracy. More 2accuracy of BMS 12.60
Charge 3 9.05
can be gained by using
2 12.6097
more precise components
97 95 95
and
Discharge 4 12.60 more proper calibration
Discharge 4 97 12.60
coefficients.
8.97
97
It is also necessary
8.97−2
to replace
−2
the passive
99 balancer
99
with an active balancer to gain higher efficiency and reduce the power loss.
Finally, the communication between BMS and workstation using IoT technology is
verified. Figure 20 shows the user interface of the application Google Sheets. The data
measured by BMS systems are successfully transferred via the Internet to this application.
Then the users with permission can access these data wherever, whenever for further uses.
The uses of other IoT platforms in the BMS system also were introduced in [4,5].
Figure 20. The data transmitted via IoT to Google Sheets.

Figure 20. The data transmitted via IoT to Google Sheets.
The
Thus,designed BMSthat
it is obvious is actually a Commercial
the designed off-the-shelf
BMS fulfills (COTS) system,
all the requirements which is
with acceptable
based on a microcontroller and common ICs such as ADCs, linear and
accuracy. More accuracy of BMS can be gained by using more precise componentsswitching regula-
and
tors, and current and temperature sensors. Such a design allows easy, cheap, and fast
manufacturing, maintenance, repair, or upgrading. In this period of chip shortage, such a
COTS design is one of the most promising solutions [76] because the concept of the de-
signed system can be applied to almost types of microcontrollers, ADCs, sensors, etc.
more proper calibration coefficients. It is also necessary to replace the passive balancer with
an active balancer to gain higher efficiency and reduce the power loss.
The designed BMS is actually a Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) system, which is
based on a microcontroller and common ICs such as ADCs, linear and switching regulators,
and current and temperature sensors. Such a design allows easy, cheap, and fast manufac-
turing, maintenance, repair, or upgrading. In this period of chip shortage, such a COTS
design is one of the most promising solutions [76] because the concept of the designed
system can be applied to almost types of microcontrollers, ADCs, sensors, etc.
The use of a microcontroller, instead of dedicated BMS’ ICs (for example BQ769x0
family from Texas Instrument or LTC68xx family from Linear Technology), allows the
flexible design and upgrade of the system. Functions of the system can easily be changed
by changing the code. The BMS can also be applied to another existing system, as an
“upgrade package”. On the other hand, the power consumption of the system is higher in
comparison with the power consumption of dedicated ICs.
From the viewpoint of accuracy, a large number of techniques such as a digital filter
or a sensor fusion can be applied to the program to reduce the noise of measurement.
For example, an extended Kalman filter can be used to predict and filtrate the measuring
errors, as presented in [77]. The errors can be compensated by using comfortable correction
coefficients in the software program.
The performance of the battery also can be informed. During the charging/recharging
repetition, the system may calculate the amount of flowing electric charges. Compared to
the nominal value of battery capacity, we can easily calculate the battery’s performance.
As presented above, the performance of the verified battery is chosen as 94% based on the
results of measurements conducted by the system.
5. Conclusions
The article presents a design of low-cost BMS for Unmanned Electric Vehicles. To
meet the demand of minimizing human casualties, UVs were rapidly developed and have
been becoming an indispensable element of each country’s military and military doctrine.
Among multiples categories of UVs, small UVs (with a weight of less than 150 kg) are
the most suitable categories for small countries, such as the Czech Republic and Vietnam.
These UVs are nowadays powered by electrochemical battery systems which are promising
alternatives for older ICE. Regarding a large number of battery types, the Lithium battery
is now the most common type. The BMS presented in this article is also designed for UVs
using multi-cell Lithium battery packs.
The BMS uses distributed topology with one Master module and more Slave modules.
Each Slave module oversees the operating condition of one battery pack and protects it
against cell imbalance. The function of protecting the battery against cell imbalance is
performed by a balancer which can be active or passive. The active balancer provides a
solution with higher efficiency but with higher initial cost and a more complex control
algorithm. The passive balancer is less complex and inexpensive, so it is chosen in our
design. However, in future work, an active balancer must be developed regarding power
loss. All the data measured by Slave Modules are transferred to the Master module, which
stores them in a microSD card and transfers them into a workstation for further processing.
All the required functions of BMS were verified using laboratory instruments con-
trolled by a computer with SCPI commands. The results of experiments show that the
BMS fulfills all the requirements with acceptable accuracy. Hence, the BMS can be used
in UVs to manage a large number of interesting applications. One of the most interesting
applications is used in the cooperation of small robots. Multiple robots that cooperate in a
mission with the help of the BMS can oversee the remaining energy of each other and then
modify the missions of each robot to get the best result.
Author Contributions: Conceptualization, N.N.P., J.L. and Q.H.D.; methodology, N.N.P. and J.L.;
software, N.N.P., K.L.P. and Q.H.D.; validation, N.N.P. and J.L.; formal analysis, J.L.; investigation,
N.N.P., J.L. and Q.H.D.; data curation, K.L.P.; writing—original draft preparation, N.N.P. and J.L.;
writing—review and editing, J.L.; visualization, N.N.P. and J.L.; supervision, J.L.; project administra-
tion, J.L. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Funding: This research received no external funding.
Data Availability Statement: Not applicable.
Acknowledgments: This work was supported under program “SV-FVT” and project “SV206/2“. The
authors appreciate the anonymous reviewer’s clarifications towards the manuscript production.
Conflicts of Interest: The authors declare no conflict of interest.
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Battery Management System For Unmanned Electric Vehicles With CAN BUS and Internet of Things

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Battery Management System For Unmanned Electric Vehicles With CAN BUS and Internet of Things

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Battery Management System for Unmanned Electric Vehicles

1 Department of Microelectronics, Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Communication,

Academic Editor: Weixiang Shen 1. Introduction

Vehicles 2022, 4, 639–662. https://doi.org/10.3390/vehicles4030037 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/vehicles

(a) (b) (c) (d)

(e) (f) (g) (h)

CO2 pollution comparision

2. Electric Vehicles Power Supply

Table 2. Comparison of mainly used secondary batteries [5,22,25,26].

Voltage per Cell Energy Density Energy Density Self-Discharge

Recently, the military, aerospace, transportation, and automotive industries have

Power Density [W/kg]

Vehicles 2022, 4, FOR PEER REVIEW 6

U(I) and P(I) characteristics

3.1. Motivations and Requirements

3.1. Motivations and Requirements

(a) (b) (c) (d)

3.2. Theoretical Basis

15 Discharge Curve at 4A 25°C

14.5 Discharge Curve at 1A -10°C

3.2.2. Controlled Area Network

Figure 8. Structure of CAN bus with microcontroller.

3.3. Hardware Design

3.3.1. Control Block

3.3.2. Sensing Block

where T0 = 25 ◦ C or 298.15 K is a reference temperature, at which the thermistor’s resistance

(a) (b) (c)

Controller CTRL1+ BAT1+

3.3.4. Power Electronics Converter

3.3.5. Peripheral Block and Master Module

3.3.5. Peripheral Block and Master Module

Battery Management System - V1 - Pham Ngoc Nam Power converter

5V 5V 5V 3V3 3V3 3V3 3V3

IO13 GND_5 30K

SD2 GND_6 30K

3V3 VIN LM2596_OUT+

Figure 12. Algorithm flowchart of microcontroller’s firmware.

4. Verification and Discussion

CAN transceiver + ADC Photocouplers MOSFETs + resistors

Balancing Current vs Cell Voltage

Cell voltage [V]

Battery pack BMS system

Vehicles 2022, 4, FOR PEER REVIEW 18

Measurement of Current - Before Calibration Measurement of Current - After Calibration

Measured Value [A]

Reference Values [A] Reference Values [A]

Vehicles 2022, 4, FOR PEER REVIEW(a) (b) 19

Measurement of Voltage - Before Calibration Measurement of Voltage - After Calibration

Measured Value [V]

Maesured Value -50 Maesured Value

Reference Values [V] Reference Values [V]

Measurement of Temperature - Before Calibration Measurement of Temperature - After Calibration

Measured Value [°C]

-10 0 -10 -0.15

Reference Values [V] Reference Values [V]

Vehicles 2022, 4 (a) (b) 657

Measurement of Temperature - Before Calibration Measurement of Temperature - After Calibration

Measured Value [°C]

-10 0 -10 -0.15

Reference Values [°C] Reference Values [°C]

Figure 20. The data transmitted via IoT to Google Sheets.

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