Editor’s note: This article was written by Lucia, a TechNode reporter.
When photovoltaic panels develop defects such as hot spots, physical damage, dust buildup, or other obstructions, workers have traditionally had to inspect them one by one, often at height. The process is time-consuming, physically demanding, and potentially dangerous, while also increasing maintenance costs and safety risks.
What if drones and robots could work together?
The result is a form of low-altitude intelligence that can support both inspection and maintenance.
This is more than a futuristic concept. Companies around the world are already exploring this kind of drone-robot collaboration. Skysys Intelligent Technology is part of broader industry efforts to bring drones and robots together for inspection and maintenance.
According to company data, its systems have been deployed at more than 1,400 renewable-energy sites worldwide, covering over 40 GW of installed capacity.
The company raised more than RMB 100 million in a Series B+ round in June 2025, following a similarly sized Series B a year earlier. The latest funding would go toward productizing its renewable-energy robots and expanding applications in urban low-altitude operations.
When Flying Wasn’t Enough
Skysys’ early products centered on drone docking systems that enabled automated inspection flights in smart-city settings. As AI-based defect detection and alerts were added, the system evolved from a data-collection tool into a more complete inspection platform.
Around 2018 to 2019, the technology began moving into solar farms, where large sites created strong demand for automated inspection. Similar applications later expanded into power distribution, transmission and substations. Rather than simply collecting visual data, the systems could identify defects in solar panels, power-grid equipment and, later, wind turbines without relying on manual review.
From there, the product line increasingly took shape around renewable-energy infrastructure. “Energy is a hard demand regardless of the economic cycle,” co-founder and Chief Scientist Dr. Xiao Suzhi told TechNode. Solar and wind power became key use cases, pushing Skysys’ offerings from general-purpose drone inspection toward specialized solutions for large-scale energy operations.
The Next Step: Action
As drone docking hardware became increasingly commoditized, Skysys saw limited value in competing on hardware alone. More importantly, its deployments revealed another gap: identifying a problem did not necessarily solve it.
Around 2020, the product line began expanding from inspection into maintenance. In solar, for example, drones could locate defects and other issues, but improving power output still required action on the ground. Skysys therefore introduced cleaning and other maintenance robots to extend the workflow from detection to intervention.
“The ultimate goal is still economic value for the customer,” Dr. Xiao said. The products have since evolved around that principle, with maintenance tools designed to improve power generation, reduce safety risks and support long-term asset management.
A Global Market for Solar Maintenance
Skysys is focusing its overseas sales primarily on Europe and the Asia-Pacific region, Wang Xueyan, head of marketing at the company, told TechNode. Its international business has centered on solar inspection and intelligent security, while its newer solar-cleaning robots are being marketed mainly in Europe and Asia-Pacific. On Sept. 17, Skysys was also named to the “2026 AI Going Global Future Unicorn Top 100” list at an event held under the framework of the 23rd China-ASEAN Expo.
Wang pointed to several overseas deployments. In Japan, Skysys worked with Huawei on drone-based inspections of mountainous solar farms, using locally deployed computing systems to identify defects such as hot spots, damage, dust and obstructions. In Indonesia, its drones inspect floating solar installations, automatically identifying faults and generating diagnostic reports within about 15 to 20 minutes, replacing labor-intensive inspections previously carried out by boat.
Europe is becoming a key market for Skysys’ solar-cleaning robots, driven by high labor costs and growing demand to improve output from existing rooftop solar assets. Wang said the robots are priced at just over €10,000 for export. In one estimate for an Australian customer, the company calculated that a robot could pay for itself in roughly eight months based on local electricity prices.
The Challenge of Getting Known
As a startup, Skysys has carved out a niche in renewable-energy operations and maintenance through low-altitude intelligence, but limited brand recognition overseas remains a challenge.
“We still need to explore new markets and expand our presence,” Wang said. Skysys’ playbook for overseas expansion is to team up with larger, better-known companies that can help it enter and build new markets.