{"id":15070,"date":"2023-04-05T15:12:31","date_gmt":"2023-04-05T22:12:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/mortenson-pilots-sarcos-robots-on-solar-installation-project\/"},"modified":"2023-04-05T15:12:32","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T22:12:32","slug":"mortenson-pilots-sarcos-robots-on-solar-installation-project","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/mortenson-pilots-sarcos-robots-on-solar-installation-project\/","title":{"rendered":"Mortenson pilots Sarcos robots on solar installation project"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <a href=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/files\/membership-default-internal\/\" class=\"memberhide\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/15\/2023\/01\/20220718_175041000_iOS.jpg\" alt=\"-\"><\/a><br\/><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Dive Brief:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Salt Lake City, Utah-based Sarcos Technology and Robotics completed a field trial of its robots on a Mortenson solar project, the tech company <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20230308005101\/en\/Sarcos-Achieves-Final-Validation-of-Outdoor-Autonomous-Manipulation-of-Photovoltaic-Panels-Project-for-U.S.-Department-of-Energy\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>announced on March 8<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>. JLG Industries, Array Technologies and Pratt Miller also collaborated on the test.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>The trial, which Sarcos dubbed its Outdoor Autonomous Manipulation of Photovoltaic Panels project or O-AMPP, was the final milestone of a <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.wevolver.com\/article\/re2-announces-solar-program-with-u-s-department-of-energy\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>$1.9 million Department of Energy contract<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span> that was awarded to RE2 Robotics in 2021.\u00a0Sarcos <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/sarcos-acquires-re2-robotics-positions-for-expansion\/621282\/\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>acquired<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u00a0RE2 Robotics in March 2022.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span><span><span><span><span><span>Jorgen Pedersen, Sarcos\u2019 chief operating officer, told Construction Dive that the company has a few more field trials planned, and is shooting for commercial availability of the product in 2024.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3 class=\"standard-heading\"><span><span><span><strong><span><span>Dive Insight:<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Pederson said solar installations were one of the company\u2019s top priorities due to what he called an \u201cacute need for innovative solutions.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Mortenson Vice President of Industrialization Trent Mostaert, who coordinated the project, said the technology comes at a time when demand is spiking in the solar sector.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cThe solar construction industry is facing unprecedented labor shortages while simultaneously facing an increase in demand for solar energy,\u201d Mostaert said in the release. \u201cWe believe the O-AMPP system can address these challenges while improving safety, productivity and efficiency for our workers.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Indeed, according to the <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><a rel=\"nofollow noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.seia.org\/research-resources\/30-2030-new-target-solar-decade\" target=\"_blank\"><span><span><span><span><span><span><span><span>Solar Energy Industries Association<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><span><span><span><span><span><span>, annual solar installations will need to increase by 60% to meet the 2030 climate goals of President Joe Biden\u2019s administration. Doing so would take an additional 900,000 workers, according to the group.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The technology that Sarcos tested included the Guardian XM, a robotic arm that can manipulate heavy pieces of equipment and eliminates the need for humans to move weighty, awkward objects.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>That\u2019s useful for handling commercial solar panels, which can measure more than 6 feet by 3 feet and weigh around 50 pounds each.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>For context, Mostaert said the entire project had 204,000 modules installed overall.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>The majority of those panels were still placed by people. But to test the robots, Mortenson intentionally left one row of trackers, or the frames the solar panels are mounted on, incomplete, without the solar panels on top.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Then, Mortenson, Sarcos and the rest of the project team used the robot\u2019s arm, outfitted with suction cups, to lift the remaining solar modules in place. Workers performed the final attachments.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>Mostaert said the project, which ran from April through December 2022, was \u201ca good proof of concept\u201d and that Mortenson would be looking for opportunities to add robots to their solar jobs in the future. He noted the system still needs more fine tuning before it can become fully commercially viable.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span><span><span><span><span><span>\u201cOver time, as the technology gets better, our hope is to continue to modify and get the machines to run smoother and quicker,\u201d Mostaert told Construction Dive, adding that his firm would continue to look for opportunities to include machines on solar jobsites.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-5143531171910809\"\r\n     crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script>\r\n<!-- News - Bottom -->\r\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\"\r\n     style=\"display:block\"\r\n     data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-5143531171910809\"\r\n     data-ad-slot=\"8320848692\"\r\n     data-ad-format=\"auto\"\r\n     data-full-width-responsive=\"true\"><\/ins>\r\n<script>\r\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});\r\n<\/script><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.constructiondive.com\/news\/mortenson-pilots-sarcos-robots-solar-installation-project\/646830\/\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">This article was originally posted at Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Dive Brief: Salt Lake City, Utah-based Sarcos Technology and Robotics completed a field trial of its robots on a Mortenson &#8230; <a title=\"Mortenson pilots Sarcos robots on solar installation project\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/mortenson-pilots-sarcos-robots-on-solar-installation-project\/\" aria-label=\"Read more about Mortenson pilots Sarcos robots on solar installation project\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[457],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-construction-dive","generate-columns","tablet-grid-50","mobile-grid-100","grid-parent","grid-33"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15070","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15070"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15070\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15070"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15070"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/essential.construction\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15070"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}