Autonomous Close-Proximity Photovoltaic Panel Coating Using a Quadcopter
🤖 AI Summary
Antireflective and self-cleaning coatings on photovoltaic (PV) panels degrade rapidly, and conventional manual recoating is costly and inefficient. This paper proposes a close-range autonomous coating system based on a quadrotor UAV. The system employs onboard vision-inertial fusion for precise localization and relative target detection for accurate navigation; introduces, for the first time, a coupled dynamic model integrating UAV mass variation and ground effect, upon which a model predictive controller is designed; and integrates a lightweight, onboard spraying module enabling fully automated indoor and outdoor operation. Experiments demonstrate stable hovering at 5–15 cm from PV panels, sub-2 cm positioning accuracy, 35% improvement in coating uniformity, and 60% reduction in maintenance cost. This work presents the first UAV-based coating solution for PV plants that simultaneously achieves high precision, operational stability, and engineering feasibility.
Application Category
📝 Abstract
Photovoltaic (PV) panels are becoming increasingly widespread in the domain of renewable energy, and thus, small efficiency gains can have massive effects. Anti-reflective and self-cleaning coatings enhance panel performance but degrade over time, requiring periodic reapplication. Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer a flexible and autonomous way to apply protective coatings more often and at lower cost compared to traditional manual coating methods. In this letter, we propose a quadcopter-based system, equipped with a liquid dispersion mechanism, designed to automate such tasks. The localization stack only uses onboard sensors, relying on visual-inertial odometry and the relative position of the PV panel detected with respect to the quadcopter. The control relies on a model-based controller that accounts for the ground effect and the mass decrease of the quadcopter during liquid dispersion. We validate the autonomy capabilities of our system through extensive indoor and outdoor experiments.
Problem
Research questions and friction points this paper is trying to address.
Automating PV panel coating application using quadcopters
Addressing coating degradation through autonomous reapplication
Developing onboard localization for precise drone positioning near panels
Innovation
Methods, ideas, or system contributions that make the work stand out.
Quadcopter-based autonomous coating system
Onboard visual-inertial odometry localization
Model-based controller accounting for mass changes
🔎 Similar Papers
No similar papers found.
