rover_wiring_standard.docx
ROVER WIRING STANDARD
Wire Identification & Annotation Guide
This document defines the standard for identifying, labelling, and tracking every wire in the rover. All team members must follow this standard when adding wires to the wire register spreadsheet or physically labelling harnesses.
1. Wire ID Format
Every wire has a single unique ID that encodes its type, system, route, and destination connector. The format is:
[NUM]-[TYPE]-[SYS]-[FROM]-[TO]-[CONN]
Example:
201-P-DRV-PWB-SPL-RKL
Power wire #201 in the Drive system, from the Power Board to the Splitter, plugging into the RKL connector.
Segment Values Meaning Example
NUM 101--999 3-digit wire 201
number; grouped by
system (see legend)
TYPE P or D P = Power wire | D P
= Data / signal
wire
SYS 3-letter System the wire DRV code belongs to
FROM 3--5 letters Abbreviated source PWB
device (silkscreen
preferred)
TO 3--5 letters Abbreviated SPL destination device
CONN Silkscreen Connector label on RKL text the TO device being plugged into
2. Wire Numbering
The 3-digit number groups wires by system so any number immediately identifies its domain. Numbers are assigned sequentially within each range as wires are added to the register.
Range Code System Devices
100 PWR Power BMS, Fuse, Kill Switches, Power Board, Buck Converters, Fans
200 DRV Drive Splitter, Brushless Controllers, Drive Motors, Rocker, Headlights, Switches
300 COM Communications Jetson, Raspberry Pi, Network Switch, USB Hub, CANable, POE, Antenna, GPS, UART Board, Pantilt
400 ARM Arm Arm PD, Arm Box, Arm Brushed, ESCs, Motors, Encoders, Limit Switches, ToF, Laser
500 SCI Science Science-Arm board
600 --- (reserved)
700 --- (reserved)
800 --- (reserved)
900 --- (reserved)
Ranges 600--900 are reserved for future systems. Do not use them without updating this document first.
3. Wire Type Flag (P / D)
The single letter after the wire number identifies what the wire carries:
-
P --- Power wire: carries voltage to supply a device (24V, 12V, 5V rails, motor power).
-
D --- Data wire: carries a signal (CAN, USB, Ethernet, UART, PWM, encoder, sensor).
If a cable physically bundles both power and data (e.g. a servo cable with signal + supply), treat it as P and note the signal type in the Notes column of the register.
4. Device Abbreviation Dictionary
Use these 3-letter codes for the FROM, TO, and CONN segments. Silkscreen names are preferred over J-numbers because they are self-describing. Where the silkscreen is longer than 5 characters, the abbreviated form below is used in the Wire ID; the full silkscreen text is stored in the End Connector column of the wire register.
Code Silkscreen Board / Device System
PWB Power Board Power Board PWR
BMS BMS Battery Management PWR Sys.
FUS Fuse Fuse PWR
MKS Kill Switch MKS Kill Switch (MKS) PWR
SKS Kill Switch SKS Kill Switch (SKS) PWR
BK1 Buck 24→12V Buck Converter PWR 24→12V
BK2 Buck 24→5V Buck Converter 24→5V PWR
FAN Fans Fans PWR
SPL Splitter Drive Splitter Board DRV
BRL Brushless L Brushless Ctrl DRV (Left)
BRR Brushless R Brushless Ctrl DRV (Right)
BRF Brushless F Brushless Ctrl DRV (Front)
MOL Drive Motor L Drive Motor (Left) DRV
MOR Drive Motor R Drive Motor (Right) DRV
MOF Drive Motor F Drive Motor (Front) DRV
RKL J17 Rocker L Rocker Switch (Left) DRV
RKR J18 Rocker R Rocker Switch DRV (Right)
HD1 Headlight 1 Headlight #1 DRV
HD2 Headlight 2 Headlight #2 DRV
HD3 Headlight 3 Headlight #3 DRV
SWT Switches Switches (J23 RKS) DRV
JET Jetson J6 Jetson COM
RPI RBPi ARM J7 Raspberry Pi COM
HAT Pi Hat Raspberry Pi Hat COM
NSW Network Switch Network Switch COM J8
HUB USB Hub USB Hub COM
CAN CAN J27 CANable COM
POE POE POE Injector COM
ANT Antenna J10 Antenna COM
GPS GPS1 / GPS2 GPS Unit COM
URT UART UART Board (Sonia) COM
PAN Pantilt Pantilt Assembly COM
PIT Pitch Servo Pitch Servo COM
YAW Yaw Servo Yaw Servo COM
TOC ToF sensor ToF Sensor (Pantilt) COM (Pantilt)
APD Arm PD Board Arm PD Board ARM
ABX Arm Box Board Arm Box Board ARM
ABR Arm Brushed Arm Brushed Board ARM Board
ESE Elbow ESC Elbow ESC ARM
ESS Shoulder ESC Shoulder ESC ARM
ESW Waist ESC Waist ESC ARM
GRM Gripper Motor Gripper Motor ARM
WPM Wrist Pitch Wrist Pitch Motor ARM Motor
WRM Wrist Roll Motor Wrist Roll Motor ARM
GRE Gripper Encoder Gripper Encoder ARM
WPE Wrist Pitch Wrist Pitch Encoder ARM Encoder
WRE Wrist Roll Wrist Roll Encoder ARM Encoder
LS1 Limit Switch 1 Limit Switch 1 ARM
LS2 Limit Switch 2 Limit Switch 2 ARM
LSG Limit Switch Limit Switch ARM Gripper (Gripper)
TOA ToF sensor (Arm) ToF Sensor (Arm) ARM
LAS Laser Laser ARM
SCA Arm/Sci J22 Science-Arm Board SCI
When adding a new device, choose a 3-letter code not already in this table, add it here, and update the wire register legend sheet before assigning it to any Wire ID.
5. Wire Register Spreadsheet
5.1 Column Definitions
The wire register is the single source of truth for all wiring. Each row is one wire. The columns are:
Column Example Column Example
Wire ID 201-P-DRV-PWB-SPL-RKL End 2 --- Device Splitter
Description Power board to splitter End 2 --- RKL Connector
System DRV Length TBD
End 1 --- Device Power Board Gauge (AWG) TBD
End 1 --- J17 Harness ID H-DRV-01 Connector
Wire Colour Red Status DRAFT
Notes
5.2 Status Values
Every wire must have a status. Never leave it blank.
Status Meaning
DRAFT Wire identified in diagram; length and gauge not yet confirmed
MEASURED Physical length measured; gauge selected
MADE Wire cut, crimped, and labelled
ROUTED Wire physically installed in rover
COMPLETE Wire tested and verified end-to-end
5.3 Harness IDs
Wires that are physically bundled together in the same sleeve or conduit share a Harness ID. Format: H-[SYS]-[NN], e.g. H-ARM-01. A single wire with no bundle leaves the Harness ID blank. The harness grouping does not affect the individual Wire ID.
6. Rules & Edge Cases
-
Wire IDs are permanent. Once assigned and entered in the register, never change a Wire ID even if the wire is re-routed. Update the description and device columns instead.
-
No blanks in Wire ID, Type, System, or Status. Use TBD for Length and Gauge when not yet known.
-
Cross-system wires use the source system code. A power wire going from PWB to a drive splitter is P-PWR, not P-DRV.
-
Connector names with spaces: remove the space and run the words together or use only the most distinctive word (e.g. 'CAN J27' becomes CAN, 'GPS + PanTilt' becomes GPS).
-
Two wires between the same devices on different connectors: they will naturally differ in the CONN segment (e.g. 201-P-DRV-PWB-SPL-J1 vs 202-P-DRV-PWB-SPL-J2). No suffix needed.
-
Physical wire labels: print or write the Wire ID on both ends of every wire, as close to the connector as possible.
7. Quick Reference
[NUM]-[TYPE]-[SYS]-[FROM]-[TO]-[CONN]
Real examples from this rover:
101-P-PWR-BMS-FUS-IN BMS output to fuse
201-P-DRV-PWB-SPL-RKL Power board J17 to splitter
301-D-COM-PWB-CAN-J27 Power board CAN to CANable
401-P-ARM-PWB-APD-PWR Power board to Arm PD board
402-D-ARM-ABR-GRM-IN Arm brushed board to gripper motor
501-D-SCI-PWB-SCA-J22 Power board Arm/Sci to science board