AUTONOMOUS GROUND VEHICLE FOR SOLAR MODULE INSTALLATION
An advanced system of cooperating solar module carrier robots for installing solar panels on a solar tracker is provided. The advanced system can include a computer vision system designed to route the cooperating solar module carrier robots to a solar tracker, a deck sized to fit one or more pallets of solar panels, and a robotic arm with a suction cup tool designed to pick up and hold a solar panel.
1 . An advanced system of cooperating solar module carrier robots for installing solar panels on a solar tracker comprising:
a computer vision system designed to route the cooperating solar module carrier robots to the solar tracker;
a deck sized to fit one or more pallets of solar panels;
a robotic arm with a suction cup tool designed to pick up and hold a solar panel; and
a chassis including an engine and drive components.
2 . The advanced system of cooperating solar module carrier robots of claim 1 , wherein the chassis further comprises:
a direct current (DC) drive motor for the robotic arm.
3 . The advanced system of cooperating solar module carrier robots of claim 1 , further comprising a battery with a fuel-powered engine.
4 . The advanced system of cooperating solar module carrier robots of claim 3 , wherein the fuel-powered engine is provided in a form of a gas-powered engine.
5 . The advanced system of cooperating solar module carrier robots of claim 3 , wherein the fuel-powered engine is provided in a form of a diesel-powered engine.
6 . The advanced system of cooperating solar module carrier robots of claim 4 , further comprising:
a first solar module carrier robot designed to carry the solar panels; and
a second solar module carrier robot including the robotic arm designed to install the solar panels on the solar tracker.
7 . The advanced system of cooperating solar module carrier robots of claim 6 , wherein the deck is provided in the form of a slanted deck.
8 . The advanced system of cooperating solar module carrier robots of claim 6 , wherein the first solar module carrier robot further comprises one or more sensors to determine when an amount of the solar panels on the deck is getting low.
9 . The advanced system of cooperating solar module carrier robots of claim 8 , wherein the one or more sensors are installed on the deck.
10 . The advanced system of cooperating solar module carrier robots of claim 9 , wherein the one or more sensors determine when the amount of the solar panels on the deck is getting low by weight, vision, count, or a combination thereof.
11 . The advanced system of cooperating solar module carrier robots of claim 6 , further comprising:
a mechanical hitch; and
an electrical mating interface.
12 . The advanced system of cooperating solar module carrier robots of claim 11 , wherein the first solar module carrier robot may be provided in the form of a vehicle designed to couple to a front end or a back end of the second solar module carrier robot using the mechanical hitch and the electrical mating interface.
13 . The advanced system of cooperating solar module carrier robots of claim 1 , wherein the chassis further comprises one or more cooling lines into and out of a housing of the chassis.
14 . An advanced method for installing solar panels on a solar tracker using a system of cooperating solar module carrier robots comprising:
routing the cooperating solar module carrier robots to the solar tracker using a computer vision system;
picking up a solar panel from a deck of a first robot of the solar module carrier robots with a robotic arm coupled to a second robot of the solar module carrier robots using a suction cup tool, wherein the first robot is coupled to the second robot using a chassis; and
holding the solar panel using the suction cup tool.
15 . The advanced method for installing solar panels of claim 14 , further comprising:
hovering the solar panel with the robotic arm at an installation position using the computer vision system.
16 . The advanced method for installing solar panels of claim 15 , further comprising:
advancing the solar panel forward, rotating the solar panel, or a combination thereof; and aligning the solar panel with one or more mounting components on the solar tracker.
17 . The advanced method for installing solar panels of claim 14 , wherein the first robot is provided in the form of a vehicle designed to couple to a front end or a back end of the second robot using a mechanical hitch, an electrical mating interface, or a combination thereof.
18 . The advanced method for installing solar panels of claim 14 , further comprising:
monitoring an amount of solar panels on the first robot of the solar module carrier robots using one or more sensors.
19 . A system for installing solar panels on a solar farm comprising:
a panel carrying robot;
a fastening robot;
a communications module designed to coordinate between the panel carrying robot and the fastening robot;
a self-leveling device designed to stabilize the fastening robot on an uneven surface and level the fastening robot relative to a solar tracker; and
a set of lights designed to facilitate the computer vision system to operate at night-time.
20 . The system for installing solar panels of claim 19 , further comprising a wind sensor.