At Raptor Maps, we’re continuously expanding the capabilities of what robotics units that live on solar farms can do through Raptor Solar Sentry in order to meet the evolving needs of utility-scale solar. In particular, autonomous drone-in-a-box units enable teams to capture targeted, high-impact insights at every stage of a project’s lifecycle, powered by Sentry’s growing library of inspection types. This month, we’re excited to highlight two powerful additions to the platform: Capacity Testing Inspections and Night Security Inspections.
Validate electrical output before it costs you in production losses with Capacity Testing inspections:
Capacity testing is one of the most critical phases of commissioning during a solar project build. It's the final opportunity to validate a system’s performance against its designed specification before handoff. A core part of capacity testing is identifying issues that could lead to future underperformance, such as offline strings, faulty combiners, or loose electrical connections. However, this work can be time-consuming, error-prone, and is historically heavily dependent on manual coordination between field crews and commissioning teams.
Raptor Maps’ new Capacity Testing inspection, powered by Raptor Solar Sentry, our autonomous drone-in-a-box solution, streamlines this process with real-time thermal livestreams and rapid anomaly detection at the string and combiner level. Unlike static methods, these inspections provide instant visibility into the root causes of potential underperformance. All of this data is then easily accessible in a digital system of record of the solar site, and actionable for ground crews.
By pairing autonomous drones with commissioning workflows, our new Capacity Testing inspection delivers immediate, actionable punchlists and enables rapid validation of electrical integrity, ensuring your site is production-ready before final energization.
Protect your site after hours with Night Security Inspections
Most utility-scale solar sites have limited visibility once the sun sets, despite housing millions of dollars in critical infrastructure. This lack of after-hours oversight can expose sites to theft, vandalism, and operational delays—especially as portfolios grow and staffing remains lean.
To help asset owners proactively deter any damage done after hours, Raptor Maps is introducing autonomous nighttime inspections as part of the Raptor Solar Sentry platform. Powered by FAA-approved drone-in-a-box technology, this capability allows for fully remote, beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) operations in low-light conditions, delivering real-time awareness without on-site personnel.
These inspections help deter asset theft, enable remote assessment of site conditions before crew mobilization, and provide 24/7 situational awareness. With autonomous coverage after hours, operators can act faster, respond smarter, and reduce risk across their sites with a new layer of intelligence.
Next steps
From the civil engineering on your site down to the wiring on the back of your panels, the Raptor Solar platform provides you detailed, up-to-date data on the conditions and performance of your solar fleet so that your team has the intel they need to do their jobs effectively, quickly, and safely.
