This Friendly Robot Just Installed 100 MW of Solar Power (electrek.co)
- Reference: 0181180276
- News link: https://hardware.slashdot.org/story/26/03/29/1947202/this-friendly-robot-just-installed-100-mw-of-solar-power
- Source link: https://electrek.co/2026/03/29/this-friendly-robot-just-installed-100-mw-of-solar-power/
Maximo uses AI "to automate the heavy lifting of solar panels and accelerate solar installation," [2]according to their web page , which shows a video of Maximo at work installing a vast field of solar panels in Kern County, California. With assistance from Nvidia, the Maximo team could "develop, test and refine robotic capabilities through physics-based simulation and AI driven modeling before deploying updates in the field," reports Electrek , and they're aiming for a full GW of solar generating capacity:
> After [3]completing the first half of the Bellefield complex last summer , Maximo engineers went into a higher gear, with the latest version 3.0 robots consistently surpassing an installation rate of one module per minute, with construction crews installing as many as 24 solar panel modules per hour, per person. If that sounds fast, [4]that's because it is . At full tilt, the latest Maximo robot-equipped crews have nearly doubled the output of traditional installation methods at similar solar locations throughout Southern California.
>
> "Reaching 100 MW is an important milestone for Maximo and for the role robotics can play in solar construction," explains Chris Shelton, president of Maximo. "It demonstrates that field robotics can move beyond experimentation and deliver consistent results at utility scale. As solar deployment continues to accelerate globally, technologies that improve installation speed, quality and reliability will become increasingly important...."
>
> Like just about every other business that demands a high degree of physical labor, the construction industry is facing huge labor shortages, making [5]machines like Maximo that provide real efficiency gains welcome additions to the job site.
"The combination of AI, vision, robotics and simulation driven engineering reduced development and validation timelines," the Maximo team said in a statement, "and increased confidence in field performance as the robotic fleet scaled."
[1] https://electrek.co/2026/03/29/this-friendly-robot-just-installed-100-mw-of-solar-power/
[2] https://www.aes.com/about-us/innovation/maximo
[3] https://electrek.co/2025/06/11/the-us-largest-solar-storage-project-just-hit-a-big-milestone/
[4] https://electrek.co/2026/03/20/a-24-7-solar-farm-building-robot-just-hit-the-market/
[5] https://electrek.co/2026/01/21/humanoid-robots-build-a-new-excavator-every-6-minutes-right-now/
It's a shame (Score:3, Funny)
Their gonna fall just short of the 1.21 Gigawatts Doc Brown needs.
NOT friendly. (Score:3)
I was so proud of this robot that I went up and gave it a hug. Everyone around me started yelling at me to get away and then the robot tried to install a solar panel on me. Long story short, I ended up in the hospital with a restraining order against to stay away from the robot.
THIS ROBOT IS NOT FRIENDLY.
Re: (Score:2)
How much power do you generate now?
superiority (Score:2)
How much does the robot cost? If can can speed things up to "up to" twice as fast per person over traditional methods, is it cheaper than twice as many people equipped with twice as much traditional equipment? What proportion of the time does it get "up to" double the speed? Does it use more or less energy than traditional equipment? Does it break down more or less often than traditional equipment? How much does getting it serviced cost, compared to traditional equipment?
Baby steps (Score:2)
If the AGIs are going to satisfy their thirst for endless energy, they will need even more advanced versions of this for when there are no humans. I'm sure they will appreciate the head start we give them in life.
Re: (Score:2)
Screw the solar-panel-deploying robots... it sounds like what we really need are Dyson-sphere-building robots!
Electrek sucks ***. it's mostly clickbait (Score:2)
I read the headline. Was excited.
a second later saw it was an "electrek.co" link and my heart sank.
Clicked through anyway... and sadly confirmed that it is a kernel of truth, but wrapped in misleading exaggeration. It's propaganda and boosterism rather than a concise and informative take. And this happens basically for every /. story from them.
e.g. i look forward to this summer's inevitable series about the records for how many hundreds of days California has run on 100% solar energy....
i forget exactly
Looks like a robotic arm on a rail (Score:3)
This doesn't seem like particularly new tech, just a tweak on what the automotive industry has been using for several dacades. I'd also be curious if that "twice as fast" calculation takes into account the time necessary for setting up the necessary rails etc. required for the Maximo robots to operate.
Re: Looks like a robotic arm on a rail (Score:3)
What rails? This robot has tracks like a mini excavator, so it can drive anywhere. And yeah it is the same type of industrial robot, but not on a fixed position with a fixed power supply you can run 24/7. So the robot has to deal with uneven surfaces and distances from the solarpanel mountrail.
Re: (Score:2)
Pretty sure he means the rails the solar panels are fixed to. That part does not seem automated. Also, this is really stupid in that we are covering farm fields with solar? Why not industrial and distribution rooftops and parking lots? Fuck I would even settle for partial cover of roads and freeways. There is no need to ruin nature like this. We are taking fields which have high productivity with photosynthesis and converting them into low albedo solar arrays, when we could be turning roads and rooftops and
Re: (Score:2)
Properly installed PV panels don't ruin nature, they can actually help nature. Most plants don't like full solar power all day and prefer shades. Same for animals.
Re: (Score:2)
The Chinese have these kinds of robots deploying much larger installations. They also have drones that fly panels into mountainous areas for installation.
Not that I'm knocking it, it's good that they are copying good ideas. The cheaper solar gets the better, and for political reasons stuff like this has to be home grown.