Project Overview
ASTROC AS TECH provides automated aerial inspection services for utility-scale solar power plants. By combining high-resolution radiometric thermal imaging with AI-driven defect detection, we enable operators to quickly identify and locate underperforming panels, hot spots, and string failures across vast solar arrays.
Hotspots identified by ASTROC Vision System
The Challenge
Utility-scale solar farms can span hundreds of acres with millions of individual photovoltaic (PV) modules. Manual inspections using handheld thermal cameras are prohibitively slow, expensive, and subject to human error, leading to unrecognized energy yield losses and potential fire hazards.
The Solution and Results
ASTROC deployed drones equipped with dual-sensor (Electro-Optical/Infrared) payloads flying automated pre-programmed grid missions at optimized altitudes and speeds. The captured radiometric data and visual imagery were ingested directly into the ASTROC Data Analytics Platform.
Our proprietary AI Smart Vision System automatically classified anomalies according to IEC standards (e.g., single-cell hotspots, multi-cell hotspots, diode failures, and string outages). The platform generated comprehensive digital twin reports, geolocating every defect to an exact module string/row, allowing maintenance teams to immediately target specific panels, thereby recovering lost MW capacity and protecting the asset lifecycle.