US energy technology company AES has launched a ‘first-of-its-kind’ AI robot to make the construction of new solar projects ‘faster, more efficient, and safer’.
The product of a multi-year innovation process, the robot, dubbed Atlas, was designed by AES and built in cooperation with Calvary Robotics as well as other third parties at Calvary’s New York headquarters.
Atlas will support AES’ workforce by performing the heavy lifting, placing, and attachment of solar modules, while adding new high-tech jobs, the company said in a press release.
Chris Shelton, AES senior vice president and chief product officer, said: “The Atlas robot automates the construction of new solar resources, enabling a safer work environment, shorter project timelines and lower overall energy costs.”
AES referenced research from BloombergNEF (BNEF) that showed 455GW of new solar capacity would be required globally each year through to 2030 for markets and organisations to stay on track to achieve their net-zero emissions commitments.
The new Atlas robot from enables the rapid deployment of new solar resources at scale to help meet the demand for cleaner energy, said AES.
In addition to the solar robot, AES has also invested in solar robots from Ecoppia to automate the cleaning of PV panels, in 5B and its MAVERICK technology for plug and play solar farm installation, and in the world’s first DC-coupled solar plus battery storage solutions providing dispatchable energy.
Image credit: AES
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