GameChange Solar, Raptor Maps partner for robotic solar inspection system
Energy infrastructure firm GameChange Solar has introduced a first of its kind solar tracker monitoring system in collaboration with robotics inspection and analytics company Raptor Maps.
Promising to give solar asset owners a continuous inspection feedback loop for their systems, the tracker monitoring system is integrated with autonomous robotic inspection. GameChange Solar officials say the system will allow for on-site inspection data on tracker performance, greatly shortening the time from initial signal to maintenance action.
For asset owners, the new solution is expected to reduce financial losses from previously undetected issues, lowering operational costs and limiting the loss risks posed by severe weather events. Beyond that, GameChange representatives say the collaborative solution will provide a truly massive assist for O&M teams around North America.
GeniusVision for O&M
The data that GameChange and Raptor Maps’ robotic analytics team collects will feed directly back into an algorithmic program known as GeniusVision, the companies say. From there, the data will be able to refine its underlying algorithms to continuously improve tracker performance and stow behavior.
Phillip Vyhanek, CEO of GameChange Solar, says his company has “always taken a long view” on giving value to solar system owners. He adds that this partnership with Raptor Maps is merely a part of that philosophy.
“By working with the solar industry’s most deployed robotic inspection platform to combine Sentry’s capabilities with GeniusVision, we’re giving owners a more complete picture of tracker health and giving our teams the feedback needed to continue improving our products,” he says. “We’re excited to extend our services, value, and relationships with clients throughout the entire project lifecycle.”
The new platform will serve a variety of operational needs across the maintenance workflow, GameChange says. Following a severe weather event, the Sentry robotic inspection platform will be able flag any issues.
Nikhil Vadhavkar, CEO of Raptor Maps, says “reliability is more important than ever” in the world of utility-scale solar. As such large solar projects become ubiquitous in North America, autonomous O&M helpers like Sentry are crucial.
“What we’ve built with GameChange Solar is an elegant solution to a major problem in these vast, hard-to-access regions,” Vadhavkar says. “The tracker signals a need, Sentry goes and gets the data, and that data drives the actions necessary to mitigate losses. This closed-loop automation drastically shortens the time between what’s detected and actions taken, delivering a win for the owner and their O&M.”
