Gritt Robotics brings AI-assisted robotics to bolster shrinking solar workforce
Gritt Robotics deploys AI-assisted robotic systems to automate repetitive and physically demanding tasks at large-scale solar construction sites, partnering with top EPCs to install six million panels over two years.
Robots traditionally excel in controlled environments like factories but face challenges outdoors due to unpredictable variables. Solar construction sites present a unique opportunity for automation because their layouts are relatively uniform and two-dimensional, allowing robots to handle repetitive tasks such as transporting heavy materials and placing tracker tubes. Recent advancements have expanded robotics applications to include panel installation and finishing work, supported by investments and contracts with engineering firms. Gritt Robotics focuses on retrofitting commercial construction equipment with AI-driven computer control to improve flexibility and assist with site management.
Gritt Robotics has deployed its robotic systems at solar job sites operated by Burns & McDonnell, a major engineering, procurement, and construction firm. The company is collaborating with three top-10 solar EPCs to install six million solar panels with a total capacity of approximately 2.8 GW over the next two years. Puneet Puri, co-founder and CEO of Gritt, emphasized that large-scale solar sites provide an ideal proving ground for AI-assisted robotics due to the balance of repetitive tasks and dynamic environmental challenges.
Gritt’s technology retrofits existing construction vehicles or robotic arms with AI software, enabling them to perform specialized tasks autonomously without reinventing base platforms. The company’s approach leverages AI to identify patterns and similarities across job sites, allowing the system to learn and adapt more efficiently. Vishal Dugar, co-founder and CTO, compared this learning process to human workers, where skills and patterns are transferable from one site to another, accelerating deployment and reducing training time.
The company’s leadership team includes alumni from Carnegie Mellon University’s Robotics Institute, MIT, and other automation research centers. Gritt views unstructured construction environments as the next frontier for physical AI, with large-scale solar projects serving as a critical testing ground. The solar industry faces a growing labor shortage, with reports indicating a need for 53,000 additional workers to complete ongoing projects and an estimated 41% of construction workers nationwide retiring by 2031.