Go kart electronics
The go-kart main drive motor is controlled by a series of three PCBs. Each of them have different purposes, with different IO. The image below shows, from left to right, the student board, control board and power electronics.
The student board is main processing board in the go-kart. It takes in inputs from the accelerator, brake, stop button and power electronics current sensors then outputs a PWM signal to the control board. The PWM must be regulated to ensure the control board doesn't cut the power to the kart motor. If the motor is allowed to draw too much current the control board picks up on this and shuts the kart down.
A couple of the power electronics projects are based on this board, they have to write software so the board outputs the correct signal according to what the control board expects to be receiving.
This board is basically is a safety net to protect the power electronics from frying it's self. It regulates both the acceleration current and the regenerative braking current. It is known that at stall speed, if the braking current is not limited, the karts chain starts slipping, leading to major wear on the sprockets and chain.
Being that none of the group have done much power electronics during their degrees, this stuff is a bit of a black box. It takes in some PWM signals from the Control Board, then passes back data from the current sensors. There are special conditions that must be met when using the power electronics, so be careful if you play with this stuff!