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How developing robots for the solar industry can take you to new areas


SolarCleano has been developing and selling robots to clean solar panels for 3 years. Based on the cleaning experience of its founder, Pol Duthoit, it created a robot usable by lone workers. Along the way, SolarCleano made a few discoveries that helped it tackle more issues.

Solar panels exist in all shapes and sizes

When the main SolarCleano F1 was developed, the objective was simple. A robot that could be used, unmounted and displaced by one person. It was already known that providing a power supply that would work independently on the robot would be a great add-on. Indeed, not every installation provides power sockets, and carrying a generator, or even just electricity cable, can prove to be a huge inconvenience. SolarCleano therefore developed a machine that would be dismountable, remote-controlled and battery-powered.

Soon, it also appeared necessary to develop pads that would allow the robot to clean steeper panels, most installations in Europe being tilted for instance. The key to this balance was the pads placed on the Solarcleano robot. With constant innovation, we now offer a robot capable of climbing 25° steep slopes. Also, 4 types of brushes are available, depending on dirt type. They can be combined at will.

For steeper slopes, we decided to go for an alternative solution: a safety glider. Attached on top of the robot, it accompanies it in its movements while connecting it to the panels.

Also, we received feedback from cleaners about smaller surfaces: while happy with the SolarCleano F1, they were still hand cleaning most smaller installations for practical reasons. This observation led to the release of SolarCleano Mini, easily lifted by one person and dedicated to smaller surfaces.

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