L R AS Published on Tuesday 7 June 2022 - n° 407 - Categories:placing on the market

First automated panel installation robot

The American AES Corporation has presented the first automated solar installation robot (called Atlas). It installs panels automatically, whereas a single solar power plant can have several hundred thousand panels.

solar panels. Picking up the panels, positioning them and fixing them to the mounting structures is one of the most repetitive and time-consuming processes in installation. This robot has been designed to help the already hard-pressed workforce carry out these tasks, shortening the installation time and increasing high-quality installation work. It uses artificial intelligence, computer vision, mobile robotics and advanced sensing for navigation, positioning and detection in dynamic environments.

According to its manufacturer, this robot cuts assembly time in half, facilitates the handling of increasingly large and heavy panels, increases safety and reduces costs. It automates the manual and repetitive steps in the solar panel installation process. This robot installs solar panels in half the time of current manual methods. It reduces construction times while improving safety, minimising heavy lifting and creating better working conditions in difficult climates. In short, this robot is set to accelerate the future of photovoltaics worldwide.

This robot simply transposes to panel assembly what already exists for automatic mowers and panel cleaning robots.

This first generation of Atlas robots consists of a robotic arm that picks up and places the photovoltaic panels on the solar structures and their respective clamps. Its computer vision system enables Atlas to "see" the solar structure and the clamps. It then calculates its position in relation to the torsion tubes and determines where to place and fix the panel. Atlas' second robotic arm completes the installation process by positioning and tightening the tail of the clamp, allowing complete installation of the solar panel.

This machine works with existing, commercially available mounting systems. Later, the robot will streamline the installation for optimal automated deployment.

https://www.pv-tech.org/accelerating-solar-deployment-through-robotics/

PV Tech of1 June 2022

Editor's note This robot is particularly useful and will be a great success after the first phase of doubt. Developers will appreciate the fact that it cuts assembly time in half, saves labour and automates the assembly process.

There's no doubt that the first example of this robot will give other machine builders ideas for simplifying and reducing the cost of a solar power plant installation.

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