Er.energyNP@Gmail.com

The new joint offering pairs GameChange Solar’s GeniusVision tracker monitoring software with Raptor Maps’ Sentry robotic inspection platform. Image: GameChange Solar

US-based tracker and balance of system provider GameChange Solar has released a new solar PV plant monitoring system alongside robotics and analytics firm Raptor Maps.

The new joint offering pairs GameChange Solar’s GeniusVision tracker monitoring software with Raptor Maps’ Sentry robotic inspection platform, enabling continuous links between tracker performance and plant monitoring.

Announcing the partnership, GameChange said that the system would use data collected by its GeniusVision tracker monitors to automatically deploy Raptor Maps’ Sentry drones to collect physical data on the solar site. The collected data would then “feed back in” to GeniusVision trackers to refine their algorithms, performance and stow behaviour.

The company said “This feedback loop creates a self-improving system: better tracker intelligence drives more precise inspections, and more precise inspections make the tracker smarter.” It added that the system could reduce financial losses due to undetected issues, lower operational costs and limit risk of loss from severe weather events, “all without dispatching a technician.”

Nikhil Vadhavkar, CEO of Raptor Maps, claimed: “What we’ve built with GameChange Solar is an elegant solution to a major problem in these vast, hard-to-access regions. The tracker signals a need, Sentry goes and gets the data, and that data drives the actions necessary to mitigate losses. This closed-loop automation drastically shortens the time between what’s detected and actions taken, delivering a win for the owner and their O&M.”

In February, Raptor Maps released a report showing that global power loss from solar PV plants more than doubled from 2020-2025, primarily due to the mechanical complexity of projects, labour availability and manufacturing quality. The firm also said that globally the solar industry lost US$10 billion to asset underperformance in 2024 alone.

The partnership with Raptor Maps follows a sequence of expansions by GameChange Solar and other tracker businesses in recent months. In February, GameChange bought eBOS firm Terrasmart, expanding its offering to include electrical and wiring solutions – competitors Nextpower and Array Technologies have also expanded into balance of system offerings. PV Tech Premium spoke with GameChange CEO Philip Vyhanek about consolidation in the sector.

By Will Norman