Design Solutions for Off-Road Electric Skateboards

Environmental sustainability and conservation of energy are two of the most pressing challenges of the 21st century century, which has hastened the planning and implementation of electric vehicles. Electric vehicles (EVs) offer a zero-emission transportation network, and thus a new automobile sector and economic growth. Because of its multiple benefits over other electrical machines, in the last few decades, Brushless DC (BLDC) motors have become a common pick in propulsion technology. This paper describes how a BLDC motor is used in the field of electric vehicles, specifically an electric skateboard, and how to control it. The ESC (Electronic Speed Controller) is responsible for this function, and it is normally made up of a power supply stage, a current detection circuit, a microprocessor, and a communication interface. The implementation in this paper involves usage of an open-source ESC called the Vedder ESC or VESC. We will also discuss a proprietary hand-gesture based controller built using the ESP32 microcontroller to propel the board with ease. Also, the paper aims to point out the impact of passive and active cell balancing on battery charging and discharging.