VIDEO: It's a bird! No, it's a solar powered robotic raven 10/15/2013 - 00:00 In theory, solar power is a great way to keep robots running indefinitely. And it's absolutely possible to do it, provided your robot doesn't need to do anything urgently, you have a ludicrously powerful light source, or your robot is very efficient and spends a lot of time in the sun. That last category has potential for solar powered micro air vehicles, including the University of Maryland's Robo Raven, which has just gotten kitted out with solar panel wings.