Finally someone heard my wishing - a way to turn the juice off to power hungry robot sensors (not just for Pi4):
Potential Uses:
- ROS robots - Extend battery life by totally shutting off power to LIDAR
The YDLIDAR X4 draws 2W (172mA at 11.7v) when not in use,
stealing up to four hours of run time. - Backup WiFi Adapter - Sometimes the on-board WiFi of a Raspberry Pi will lose connectivity.
Having a USB WiFi Adapter plugged in and powered all the time uses roughly 0.5W
stealing up to 1.3 hours of run time - should be powered off until needed. - Some USB powered audio speakers draw 0.5W just sitting there quietly waiting to be used,
resulting in the loss of up to 1.3 hours of robot run time.
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I have to admit that while I was opining for just such a device for quite a long time, I will not be rushing to add this additional complexity to either my 24/7 robot Carl, nor my “as needed” 5 hours at a time robot Dave.
