Project description
Robotics-enhanced PV systems pave the way for a safer, sustainable energy transition
As the demand for renewable energy escalates, the photovoltaic (PV) sector faces critical challenges. Labour-intensive and hazardous tasks, along with rising operational costs and resource wastage, slow the industry’s growth. Additionally, human workforce limitations impact the efficiency and the monitoring capabilities of PV plants, necessitating a transformative solution. In this context, the EU-funded TALOS project will develop state-of-the-art robotics solutions for various PV energy scenarios, including land-based, floating and agriPV. Through its autonomous robotic systems, TALOS seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, save water resources, lower operation and maintenance costs, and enhance PV plant performance. Furthermore, it will facilitate human-robot and robot-robot collaboration, making PV energy safer and more efficient.
Objective
TALOS will develop and demonstrate world-class robotics solutions for different photovoltaic (PV) energy operating scenarios – land-based, floating, and agriPV, promoting innovation in both the energy and agriculture sectors. TALOS will demonstrate the added value of robotics and their potential in reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (>450ton/year), minimising wasted resources (up to 35% water saved), lowering operation and maintenance (O&M) costs (up to 5%), and optimising human-robot and robot-robot collaboration to reduce humans' exposure to risky environments. Dangerous, dull, or dirty tasks will be performed autonomously by the TALOS solutions – such as monitoring, inspection, cleaning, and vegetation management, where robust robotics solutions will be developed for all PV scenarios and demonstrated to show increasing PV plant performance ratio up to 10%, reducing the risk exposure of O&M workers by 90% or the human burden of monitoring crops by 90% in the demonstration scenarios, allowing feasible inspection periods to be 24/7. A multi-robot platform and recommendation system will demonstrate >30 robot-robot interactions, >30 inspections, and human-in-the-loop features and training sessions for end users and workers. Requirements will be co-created with relevant stakeholders and refined for the technology partners within the consortium, as well as for the 9-13 robotics start-ups that will be granted the cascade funding and demonstrated in the test bed scenarios set up by the project.
Fields of science
- natural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligence
- engineering and technologyelectrical engineering, electronic engineering, information engineeringelectronic engineeringrobotics
- engineering and technologyenvironmental engineeringenergy and fuelsrenewable energysolar energyphotovoltaic
Keywords
Programme(s)
Funding Scheme
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation ActionsCoordinator
2685 039 Sacavem E Prior Velho Lisboa
Portugal