CrewMate, a semi-autonomous lift-assist vehicle developed by Moog Construction, recently completed a field trial near Niagara Falls, New York, demonstrating the machine’s ability to help solar field workers install PV panels. Buffalo-based Montante Solar orchestrated the field trial with Moog Construction at a solar field atop a closed landfill. The undulating, steep terrain proved to be a good test of the vehicle’s leveling system and ability to climb and maneuver with workers.
For the field trial, CrewMate repeatedly carried pallets — each loaded with up to 31 large PV panels measuring 93.9 by 51.3 in. — while closely following workers using the machine’s lift assist to pick up each 83-lb. panel and guide it onto the field’s solar module racking. CrewMate followed the installers between solar racks until emptying its pallet of PV panels, all while keeping a safe distance from workers and objects. .
“CrewMate is an innovation we believe can safely increase productivity and help meet the demand for new solar farms and workers,” said Steven Erck, VP of Montante Solar. “The PV panels in this field test are among the largest and heaviest installed by crews; CrewMate took the strain out of installation work that’s often done in high temperatures and remote areas.”
Aditya Sharma, business development manager for strategic opportunities at Moog Construction, said, “CrewMate is a ‘cobot’ that enhances how solar workers tackle their job; it increases the work crews can accomplish.”
Within a few minutes of introducing CrewMate, the solar crew understood how to operate its gripper for picking and moving panels. CrewMate also offers the potential to reduce panel breakage and eliminate injuries, sprains and strains from repeatedly lifting and moving PV panels.
This fall, CrewMate will engage in a larger pilot project to help construct a solar field at a new location.
News item from Moog Construction
Interesting, if one allows the news cycle of the amount of robotics used in say the automotive and even the solar PV manufacturing industry. High resolution robotic vision (like that used in the Boston Dynamics robots), 5 ‘axis’ movement of robotic arms and the consideration of technology already in place being used by the likes of Waymo for lower speed autonomous driving, such a technology stack could also flesh out as an autonomous robotic solar PV farm, wind farm, could be used to administer, planting, growing, managing hydroponic grow farms all with robotics and specific sensors developed for the task at hand. A project could look like two dozen humans using robotics to clear hundreds/thousands of acres of land, prepare the site and use a robotically leveraged machine fleet to quickly and precisely install hundreds of thousands of solar PV panels in just a few days, instead of a “few months”.
Again specialized robots could monitor, detect failing panels and replace them in-situ with or without human intervention. Get 10 years, 20 years down the road and have the robots replace all panels in the solar PV or wind farm turbines with the latest/greatest technologies to allow maintenance and enhancement in perpetuity. When one says “the tip of the Iceberg”, this is what they are talking about.