Solar panels constantly accumulate dust, grime, and other debris, and because they are often located high up in buildings or in remote areas, they require cleaning, which is difficult. That's why researchers are now developing a drone-based system to do the job.
Israeli solar farm services company Solar Drone and Israeli drone manufacturer Airobotics are collaborating to develop a "drone in a box" type of system.
It will include a quadcopter housed in a weatherproof docking station located near the relevant solar panels. Every so often, two doors at the top of the docking station will slide open, the drone will rise onto a powered platform, and then the aircraft will take off and fly onto the solar panels.
Using technologies such as LiDAR sensors and mapping cameras, the drone then aligns itself above each panel, sprays cleaning fluid onto it, and then moves on to the next panel. Once the cleaning task is complete, the drone lands at the docking station and is placed inside. If necessary, the robotic system will replace its batteries with freshly charged ones.
According to Solar Drone, the system should cost 25% less than other panel cleaning technologies. Furthermore, unlike at least one previously proposed drone-based setup, the drone will not actually touch the battery panel, so the likelihood of it damaging it is very small.
There is currently no information on when the system will be available for use.
