CrewMate Semi-Autonomous Panel Installation Vehicle Completes Field Trial 

CrewMate, a semi-autonomous lift-assist vehicle developed by Moog Construction, has completed a field trial near Niagara Falls, N.Y., demonstrating the machine’s ability to help solar field workers install PV panels. 

Buffalo, N.Y.-based Montante Solar orchestrated the field trial with Moog Construction at a solar field atop a closed landfill. 

For the field trial, the company says CrewMate carried pallets loaded with 31 94-inch PV panels while following workers using the machine’s lift assist to pick up each panel and guide it onto the field’s solar module racking. 

CrewMate followed the installers between solar racks until emptying its pallet, using sensors to keep at a safe distance. 

“CrewMate is an innovation we believe can safely increase productivity and help meet the demand for new solar farms and workers,” says Steven Erck, vice president for Montante Solar. 

“The PV panels in this field test are among the largest and heaviest installed by crews. CrewMate took the strain out of installation work that’s often done in high temperatures and remote areas.”

This fall, CrewMate is slated to engage in a larger pilot project helping construct a solar field at a new location.