Review of the Present State, Development Trends, and Advancements of Power Electronic Converters Used in Robotics

This review aims to help researchers, designers, and engineering staff extend operational times and elevate robots’ efficiency. The study represents an up-to-date summary of power electronic converters, their classification, and solutions found by leading robot manufacturers. While some advances have not yet become commonplace in mainstream robotics, their crucial role and promise are evident for expanding automation capabilities in various stationary and mobile applications. The work demonstrates two interconnected directions that are currently applied or are planned to be employed in the future as key factors contributing to reducing losses and accelerating energy transformation. The former direction relates to the implementation of wide bandgap devices that are superior to silicon-based electronics. The second trend concerns the advancements of converter topologies. In this way, the article presents how rectifiers, inverters, and their combinations provide voltage control, current management, and waveform shaping, thereby revealing their potential in improving energy utilisation in industry, transport, agriculture, households, and other sectors of vital activity.