I am trying to create a mid-sized robot using the Jetson TX2. I was going to use 12V 18Amh SLA battery, since the motors I am using are really huge. I wanted to know if this was doable similar to the way people are connecting the TX2 to a LiPo battery or if am going to need a voltage regulator or buck converter.
You never want to power the Jetson with the same power delivery which directly powers an inductive load, or any high current load. Especially during start the Jetson is sensitive to power stability, but if the power changes too rapidly, then it might shut down even if the power otherwise starts up correctly. You could even use a boost converter (the max voltage is 19.6V), e.g., to 18V. Just be careful to isolate external loads from that which powers the Jetson.