California’s QBotix has unveiled a dual axis tracking system that uses mobile robots to check and position solar panels.
The QBotix Tracking System (QTS) utilizes a pair of autonomous robots, a primary and back-up, to watch over up to 300 kW of solar panels per array.
The robots travel on a track and adjust each mounting system to face the sun for optimal energy harvest. The company says each robot replaces hundreds of individual motors and controllers found on conventional tracking systems.
Additionally, monitoring and data communication features provide feedback to the solar farm’s operators with regard to status and performance of each panel in the array.
“Robots have proven themselves in extreme and diverse environments from the surface of Mars to battlefields and ocean depths. We’re now deploying the innovations developed in robotics over the last several decades to manage solar power plants,” said Wasiq Bokhari, CEO and founder of QBotix.
QBotix says the system is compatible with all solar panels and mounting foundations and can increase the overall energy output of a ground-mount solar farm by up to 40% over fixed mount systems, plus reduce Levelized Cost of Electricity (LCOE) by up to 20 percent. QTS will cost as much as existing single axis systems, but generates up to 15 percent more electricity.
QTS ships pre-assembled and can be installed rapidly without using heavy equipment. The company says it can be installed without the extensive land grading needed by other tracking systems. A test system installed in October last year has successfully demonstrated its abilities and QTS is now commercially available.
“The capabilities of the QBotix Tracking System represent a huge leap forward in balance of systems technology. This is one of the biggest innovations of the solar industry in the last decade”, said Forest Baskett, QBotix board member.
Other commercial solar related robotics we’ve recently covered include Momo, the solar panel installing robot.
