[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-detail-85445-en":3,"doc-seo-85445-105":30,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":91},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"success",{"doc_id":7,"user_id":8,"nickname":9,"user_avatar":10,"doc_module":4,"category_id":11,"category_name":12,"doc_title":13,"doc_description":14,"doc_content":15,"file_id":16,"file_url":17,"file_type":18,"file_size":19,"view_count":20,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":21,"is_downloadable":21,"audit_status":21,"page_count":22,"language":23,"language_code":24,"site_id":25,"html_lang":24,"table_of_contents":26,"faqs":27,"seo_title":13,"seo_description":14,"update_tm":28,"read_time":29},85445,687197100911,"Himbo","https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/avatar/a000239b6f1da00475?x-image-process=image/resize,m_fixed,w_180,h_180&k=1782698725881665579",8,"Research & Report","Autonomous Close Proximity Photovoltaic Panel Coating Using a Quadcopter","Photovoltaic panels are widely used in renewable energy, yet dust and organic soiling cause large efficiency losses and hotspots, while anti-reflective and self-cleaning coatings degrade after environmental exposure, requiring periodic reapplication. This work proposes a quadcopter-based autonomous system with a liquid dispersion mechanism to reapply protective coatings more frequently and at lower cost than manual methods. Localization uses onboard sensors with visual-inertial odometry and relative panel position, and control models ground effect and quadcopter mass decrease. Extensive indoor and outdoor experiments validate the system.","Autonomous Close-Proximity Photovoltaic Panel Coating Using a  \nQuadcopter  \nDimitri Jacquemont, Carlo Bosio, Teaya Yang, Ruiqi Zhang, ¨Ozg¨ur ¨Or¨un, Shuai Li, Reza Alam, Thomas M. Schutzius, Simo A. Mkiharju, and Mark W. Mueller  \narXiv :2509 . 10979v3 [ cs .RO] 12 Jul 2026  \nAbstract—Photovoltaic (PV) panels are becoming increasingly widespread in the domain of renewable energy, and thus, small efficiency gains can have massive effects. Anti-reflective and self-cleaning coatings enhance panel performance but degrade over time, requiring periodic reapplication. Uncrewed Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) offer a flexible and autonomous way to apply protective coatings more often and at lower cost compared to traditional manual coating methods. We present a quadcopter-based system, equipped with a liquid dispersion mechanism, designed to automate such tasks. The localization stack only uses onboard sensors, relying on visual-inertialodometry and the relative position of the PV panel detected with respect to the quadcopter. The control relies on a modelbased controller that accounts for the ground effect and the mass decrease of the quadcopter during liquid dispersion. We validate the autonomy capabilities of our system through extensive indoor and outdoor experiments.  \nI. INTRODUCTION  \nProduction of energy from photovoltaic (PV) panels is expected to become the largest source of renewable electricity by 2029 [1] . The energy output of PV systems can be significantly reduced by the accumulation of organic matter and dust, leading to efficiency losses of over 50% in some locations, the generation of hotspots, and degradation of panels [2] . While automated cleaning systems provide effective dust removal, they require additional costs for installation, maintenance, and power consumption, and introduce added complexity and potential failure points to the system [3] . Self-cleaning coatings offer a passive maintenance solution: they reduce soiling accumulation and lower maintenance requirements without additional operational energy input [4],[5] .  \nPhotovoltaic panels also suffer from optical losses of about 4% because light is refracted and reflected at the glass interface [6] . To mitigate these losses, panels can be treated with anti-reflective coatings. These coatings can be deposited by various methods, with spray coating widely adopted for its flexibility and simplicity [4] . Several commercial products are available for PV applications, including Hydrasol [7], a hydrophobic coating, and TriNANO AR [8], which provides both self-cleaning and anti-reflective functions.  \nDespite efforts to incorporate UV-blocking and wear-resistant layers, these coatings gradually degrade under environmental exposure and erosion, diminishing their effectiveness over time [2] . According to [6] and [9],  \nThe authors are with High Performance Robotics Laboratory, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of California Berkeley, CA 94720, United States.  \nFig. 1. The quadcopter flying over a 1.1 × 2.3 m photovoltaic panel, showing the reservoir mounted on top and the coating liquid being applied through a jet nozzle mounted at the bottom.  \ncoating lifetimes are often limited to around 8 years or less, a fraction of the typical 25-year lifespan of PV modules, necessitating periodic reapplication to maintain performance. Given the vast scale of modern solar farms, re-coating is logistically challenging. To the best of our knowledge, no autonomous strategies have been developed to automate thereapplication process after they have degraded, either due to the absence of automated solutions or concerns about warranty violations.  \nWhile autonomous coating solutions are limited, some autonomous products exist for post-installation PV panel cleaning. For example, BladeRanger [10] employs an autonomous quadcopter equipped with a long-reach end-effector for surface cleaning. This design minimizes liquid spray dispersion due to wind by maintaining the nozzl","cbCaidYOkS3ct8mz","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaidYOkS3ct8mz","pdf",4776507,3,1,7,"English","en",105,"# Introduction\n## Motivation: efficiency loss and coating degradation\n## Prior approaches: cleaning and self-cleaning coatings\n## Gap: autonomous re-coating and close-proximity fluid delivery\n## Proposed quadcopter system and key challenges","[{\"question\":\"Why do photovoltaic panels need periodic re-coating?\",\"answer\":\"Anti-reflective and self-cleaning coatings degrade under environmental exposure and erosion, reducing effectiveness over time. This degradation necessitates periodic reapplication to maintain panel performance.\"},{\"question\":\"How does the quadcopter localize the panel during coating?\",\"answer\":\"The system uses only onboard sensors, relying on visual-inertial odometry and the relative position of the photovoltaic panel detected with respect to the quadcopter.\"},{\"question\":\"What control factors are considered to apply coating safely and uniformly?\",\"answer\":\"A model-based controller accounts for ground effect and the quadcopter’s mass decrease during liquid dispersion, improving stability in close proximity.\"}]",1784203578,18,{"code":4,"msg":31,"data":32},"ok",{"site_id":25,"language":24,"slug":33,"title":13,"keywords":34,"description":14,"schema_data":35,"social_meta":86,"head_meta":88,"extra_data":90,"updated_unix":28},"autonomous-close-proximity-photovoltaic-panel-coating-using-a-quadcopter","",{"@graph":36,"@context":85},[37,53,68],{"@type":38,"itemListElement":39},"BreadcrumbList",[40,44,48,50],{"item":41,"name":42,"@type":43,"position":21},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",{"item":45,"name":46,"@type":43,"position":47},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":49,"name":12,"@type":43,"position":20},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/",{"item":51,"name":13,"@type":43,"position":52},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/autonomous-close-proximity-photovoltaic-panel-coating-using-a-quadcopter/85445/",4,{"url":51,"name":13,"@type":54,"author":55,"headline":13,"publisher":57,"fileFormat":60,"inLanguage":24,"description":14,"dateModified":61,"datePublished":62,"encodingFormat":60,"isAccessibleForFree":63,"interactionStatistic":64},"DigitalDocument",{"name":9,"@type":56},"Person",{"url":41,"name":58,"@type":59},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-07-25","2026-07-16",true,{"@type":65,"interactionType":66,"userInteractionCount":20},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":67},"ViewAction",{"@type":69,"mainEntity":70},"FAQPage",[71,77,81],{"name":72,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":74},"Why do photovoltaic panels need periodic re-coating?","Question",{"text":75,"@type":76},"Anti-reflective and self-cleaning coatings degrade under environmental exposure and erosion, reducing effectiveness over time. This degradation necessitates periodic reapplication to maintain panel performance.","Answer",{"name":78,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":79},"How does the quadcopter localize the panel during coating?",{"text":80,"@type":76},"The system uses only onboard sensors, relying on visual-inertial odometry and the relative position of the photovoltaic panel detected with respect to the quadcopter.",{"name":82,"@type":73,"acceptedAnswer":83},"What control factors are considered to apply coating safely and uniformly?",{"text":84,"@type":76},"A model-based controller accounts for ground effect and the quadcopter’s mass decrease during liquid dispersion, improving stability in close proximity.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":51,"og:type":87,"og:title":13,"og:site_name":58,"og:description":14},"article",{"robots":89,"canonical":51},"index,follow",{"doc_id":7,"site_id":25},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":92},[93,97,101,105,110,115,119,122,127,130,134],{"id":21,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":94,"show_sort_weight":95,"slug":96},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":47,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":52,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":112,"show_sort_weight":113,"slug":114},6,"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":11,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":12,"show_sort_weight":120,"slug":121},30,"research-report",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":126},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":125,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":125,"slug":129},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":131,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":132,"show_sort_weight":131,"slug":133},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":135,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":46,"category_name":136,"show_sort_weight":106,"slug":137},19,"General","general"]