Resumen de Design, implementation and testing of a hydrogenpowered remotely piloted ground vehicle (UGV)

Cirilo Delgado Asencio, Francisca Segura Manzano, José Manuel Andújar Márquez , Juan Mora

• Mobile robotics has experienced exponential growth in recent decades, driven by advances in electronics, artificial intelligence and component miniaturisation. However, the full electrification of these platforms poses significant challenges related to autonomy and battery energy density. Hydrogen, as an energy vector, offers a promising alternative to overcome these limitations. This work presents the design, construction and evaluation of an intermediatesized ground robotic platform powered by a hybridisation of a PEMFC fuel cell and LiPo batteries. The main objective of this research is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of a hydrogen-based propulsion solution for agricultural applications, where platforms capable of operating over rough terrain and with high autonomy are required. Through a series of experimental tests, the performance of the platform was evaluated in terms of autonomy, speed and load capacity. The results obtained show that the proposed platform could be able to overcome obstacles and perform agricultural tasks efficiently, opening up new possibilities for automation and hydrogen propulsion in the agricultural sector. This Master thesis has been developed in the Research Centre on Technology, Energy and Sustainability (CITES) of the University of Huelva.