[gpm]

It sounds like it's got a generator on board, so it needs enough space for that.

There's no sense letting it get rained on, so it needs some sort of cap (especially given that it's presumably electric high powered lasers).

It doesn't seem to move fast enough to care about wind resistance.

A cube is a nice easy shape to build... so why not a cube.

[myself248]

I hope future generations will be at least solar-hybrid if not entirely solar. It's not like the thing has any shade to contend with, after all, and most of its loads are electrical.

[gpm]

I don't think solar panels have energy density high enough to make this even remotely plausible. Lasers convert a small percentage of the input energy into output energy, and you need a lot of energy to burn weeds to death.

Elsewhere in this comment section someone pointed out that the generator on this supplies slightly more energy than the rated maximum of most houses. It only has a few sq m of solar space on it for solar panels... that doesn't seem like it will even be a dent.

Like usual, you're better of putting solar panels on the ground somewhere. If this thing ever becomes electric I think it will have to either be by a wire, or by using electricity to convert CO2 back into fuel. Maybe if batteries improve a bit by battery, but right now it sounds like it would need to spend a large portion of it's time recharging (just comparing to electric vehicles).

On the flip side - this might be a great candidate for these guys carbon capture technology: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=26412624