Getting machines to do the job isn’t easy, however. Unlike the robots that work on assembly lines inside factories, robots that operate outdoors have to withstand rain, dirt and mud while dealing with uneven terrain and other surprises.
To overcome those hurdles, AES is counting on advances in artificial intelligence that allow its robots to recognize and adjust to different types of solar modules and difficult outdoor conditions.
“One of the biggest issues we had to deal with was glare,” said Deise Yumi Asami, who founded the company’s Maximo project. When the robot moved from New York to Ohio for testing, it suddenly faced different angles of sunlight reflecting off modules and the company’s engineers had to train the robot to adapt.
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Other solar companies are also exploring automation. Built Robotics, a San Francisco-based start-up, is using pile-driving robots to build the foundations for solar farms. By automating some processes, a task that typically takes 6 to 7 workers can be done with two workers up to three times as fast, the company said.
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Terabase Energy, a start-up based in Berkeley, Calif., has developed a small mobile factory that uses robots to assemble solar modules on-site and install them on racks. The technology has already been used to install 17 megawatts of panels at a solar farm in Arizona and the company says it has made construction 25 percent faster.