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Delivery Robot Battery Runtime Calculator

Estimate how long a delivery robot can remain in service before reaching a chosen battery reserve. The calculation converts nominal battery capacity into usable energy after reserve and discharge-efficiency adjustments, then compares that energy with the robot’s average electrical load over a delivery duty cycle.

For delivery operations, average load can change substantially with hills, curb transitions, stop frequency, onboard climate control, payload, communications, and compute demand. Use telemetry from representative routes whenever possible rather than a laboratory idle figure. The runtime result can help compare a planned service window with charging opportunities, but it does not model route-by-route state of charge, charger queues, battery temperature, or degradation unless those effects are reflected in the inputs.

Battery and load

kWh
kW
%
%
Result
—
Estimated operating runtime
Runtime—
Usable battery energy—
Energy used before reserve—
Equivalent full-battery fraction used—

1. Use current battery capacity
Enter the battery energy available for the robot configuration you expect to deploy.

2. Measure route-average power
Use average kW from representative delivery routes, including motion, sensing, compute, communications, and stops.

3. Choose an operational reserve
Set the state of charge at which the robot should leave service for charging or recovery.

4. Adjust usable discharge
Apply an efficiency factor for losses between nominal stored energy and energy available to the load.

5. Compare runtime with the route window
Use the estimated hours to determine whether mid-shift charging or battery swapping may be needed.

6. Test demanding-route scenarios
Increase average power for heavier payloads, slopes, cold weather, or stop-and-go operation when those conditions are expected.

Usable energy = Battery capacity × (1 − Reserve fraction) × Discharge efficiencyRuntime = Usable energy / Average power draw

Where:

  • Battery capacity = nominal stored energy in kWh
  • Reserve fraction = portion intentionally left unused at the end of operation
  • Average power draw = mean electrical demand in kW over the duty cycle
  • Runtime = estimated operating time in hours

Assumptions: Average power is constant over the modeled period and battery capacity is fully available apart from the entered reserve and efficiency adjustment. Degradation and temperature effects are not modeled separately.

What the result means

The runtime is the estimated time the robot can operate at the entered average power before reaching the chosen battery reserve.

Validate average power and usable capacity with telemetry from representative routes and payloads.

Given:

  • 4.8 kWh battery
  • 0.42 kW average power draw
  • 15% reserve
  • 90% discharge efficiency

Calculation:
Usable energy = 4.8 × (1 − 0.15) × 0.90 = 3.672 kWh. Runtime = 3.672 / 0.42 = 8.74 hours.

Result:
Estimated runtime ≈ 8.74 hours before the reserve threshold.

Interpretation:
The result provides a duty-cycle baseline; heavier payloads or more demanding routes can shorten actual runtime.

Can I use the motor rating as average power draw?

Usually not. A motor rating is not the same as average whole-robot electrical demand. Use measured or modeled average power for the complete delivery duty cycle.

How do hills change battery runtime?

Climbing and repeated acceleration generally increase energy use. Reflect route grade and stop frequency through a higher route-average power input unless your telemetry already captures them.

Should payload weight be entered directly?

This calculator has no separate payload field. Use an average power value measured or estimated for the payload range you expect to carry.

What reserve is appropriate for delivery operations?

The calculator does not prescribe a reserve. Choose one based on your operational policy, recovery margin, charger access, and battery-management requirements.

Can runtime be converted directly into delivery count?

Only if you also know a representative deliveries-per-hour rate. Runtime measures available operating time, while delivery capacity depends on route and stop productivity during that time.