<
https://reneweconomy.com.au/how-a-robot-named-bear-is-making-solar-farm-maintenance-safer-and-more-efficient/>
"Australia’s national science agency has repurposed robots originally designed
for the mining industry to track across thousands of kilometres harsh terrain
and inspect the hundreds of thousands of solar panels that make up large-scale
PV projects, hunting out any faults they might have.
The team of CSIRO robotics and solar engineers said on Wednesday that an
autonomous robot – dubbed “Bear” – had successfully navigated a series of
small-scale trials and would soon be tested at a larger solar farm, and the
results compared to a human assessment.
The robots have been programmed to autonomously navigate solar farms in all
terrains and conditions, to build precise maps to digitise site conditions,
avoid hazards and develop a holistic scene understanding.
They then detect faults in a project’s panels – in bigger solar farms, there
can be upwards of 500,000 – including dust build-up, insect nests or bird
droppings, physical damage, loose nuts or bolts, hotspots in panels or
electrical connectors, and wiring that needs repair.
The suite of sensors equipped on the robots include Light Detection and Ranging
(LiDAR) for accurate 3D perception, RGB cameras for visual inspection, and
thermal infrared cameras to identify electrical faults and hotspots.
Kenrick Anderson, a senior photovoltaic engineer at CSIRO, says the project is
not just about improving efficiency and safety at solar farms, but automating a
job that for humans classifies as unskilled labour, but is repetitive and can
be gruelling and even dangerous in harsh Australian conditions."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
