Dynamics Modeling and Position Control of a Robotic Carrier for Solar Panel Cleaning System

Abstract

In this paper, modeling and control of a robotic carrier for the cleaning system of solar power plants is presented. Since solar panels are placed at natural environments, there is always a problem of dust accumulation on the panels, which results in absorbed energy reduction. Hence, robotic cleaners can be used for solar panels. For relocation of such cleaning robots between solar panel rows, an automated carrier mechanism is required. Hence, a robotic system for cleaner displacement is introduced, and its dynamic modeling and control are presented. To this end, the kinematic characteristics of the robot are introduced, and the dynamic model is derived based on the energy methods. For model validation, the robot is built and simulated in ADAMS, and the results are compared. Finally, the dynamic model is used to design a position controller. The controlled system is simulated using a MATLAB and ADAMS cosimulation. The results show that the derived model and the designed controller are precise and practical.