Sun, Sand, and Occupational Safety

Pepperl + Fuchs, the pioneer and innovator in electrical explosion protection and sensor technology, reports in its article “Sun, Sand and Safety” about the solarROBOT pro product from hyCLEANER and the use of its ultrasonic sensors.

What a robot vacuum cleaner has long been doing at home, hyCLEANER is bringing to large-scale photovoltaic systems on the roof or in the open field with the solarROBOT pro: The partially automated cleaning machine reliably removes dirt from solar panels, thus promoting the energy yield and longevity of the systems. Ultrasonic sensors from Pepperl+Fuchs play a crucial role in terms of safety.

“Working on slippery glass surfaces with certain angles of inclination or on high roofs always involves a certain risk for people,” Kneiber clarifies. “With our cleaning robot, people remain in a safe environment while the solarROBOT pro does the work.”

The solarROBOT pro can be operated via a radio remote control. The AutoDrive function with cruise control and lane keeping assistant makes it particularly convenient – the robot automatically travels across the surface without the operator having to continuously control it. However, in order to protect the machine itself from crashing at an edge and thus avoid accidents and damage, hyCLEANER has equipped the cleaning robot with the particularly compact and precise ultrasonic sensors of the F77 series from Pepperl+Fuchs.

“An ultrasonic sensor is installed at each of the four corners of the solarROBOT, which looks downwards and always detects the surface of the solar panels,” explains Jan Schirweit, Sales Engineer at Pepperl+Fuchs. “If one of the sensors detects that there is no longer an object in its detection range, i.e. the surface ends, the machine stops automatically and gives the operating personnel an acoustic signal.” The operator then has the option of overriding the automatic stop and allowing the robot to continue, for example if it is only a gap, or of having it turn around.