Project number
25509
Organization
Kanab Solar
Offering
ENGR498-S2025-F2025
The SPUD (Solar Panel Unmanned Decontaminator) is an autonomous drone engineered to detect and clean solar panels using pressurized water on a residential scale. Existing autonomous drones are used on an industrial scale, which is inefficient for residential areas. These drones remove dust, dirt, and other foreign debris that collects on solar panels over time, recovering the photovoltaic efficiency loss and saves the customer money. SPUD is designed to perform well on small-scale projects with ease of modification for future upgrades and improvements.
At the time of deployment, SPUD will be transported to location with a 75-gallon water tank in a truck or similar vehicle. The technician will power on the drone, ensuring it is connected to the ground control system, and place the drone facing the residence. The drone will take off and view the building from above, locating all solar panels relative to the boundaries of the house using LiDAR. The data sent back allows the ground control software to highlight and display each solar panel on the map.
At the time of deployment, SPUD will be transported to location with a 75-gallon water tank in a truck or similar vehicle. The technician will power on the drone, ensuring it is connected to the ground control system, and place the drone facing the residence. The drone will take off and view the building from above, locating all solar panels relative to the boundaries of the house using LiDAR. The data sent back allows the ground control software to highlight and display each solar panel on the map.