Raquel Dormido Canto

Robotics in Alternative Energy

Energy is an important driving force to our modern society. The coal and petroleum as energy sources are still widely used. However, these fossil fuels do not exist in an inexhaustible supply, making it necessary to explore other energy options. In this sense, research and development in alternative energy is becoming an area of growing interest worldwide. New investments in areas as robotics are critical to supply an efficient power generation and energy conversion and to deliver energy security meeting clean goals at the same time. This chapter presents three alternative energy options: solar energy, wind energy, and biological energy. In each case, advantages, disadvantages and the robotics role in the making ever-changing alternative more competitive are analyzed.