Weekly Updates

Week 1

On the first Lab, we formed our group of five and each member of the group started to brainstorm about a feasible idea to design. After we brainstormed, we came up with a general idea of designing a Solar Tracker that will rotate towards the maximum intensity of the sunlight. The concept of this project is to let the panel get the most efficient energy during the day. We discussed some basics ideas of how are we going to design the project and what elements we might need. By the end of the lab period, we shared our contact information to the group so we can set up our group meetings and share updates about the projects. We are also going to do some research and work on writing the project proposal before the next class in week 4.


Week 2

Each member of the group has contributed to the project proposal. We have finalized and submitted our project proposal. Today in lab we will be working on the mechanical design of the solar tracker. We will be following the project timeline as presented in the proposal.


Week 3


Each member of the group was assigned to write a part of the project proposal. During lab period, we submitted our project proposal of the solar tracker and discussed it with the lab instructors. After that, we started to visualize and sketch the design on a piece of paper and made approximate measurements of the part we will use. We also assigned each member to do a certain task before our next lab meeting such as, buying materials and programming the circuit.

Rough Drawing of the demensions of the Solar Tracker

Week4

Today, we continued on programming the Arduino that will rotate the motor sensor. We faced some issues while we were programming it like sensor 1 was reading less than sensor 2, so the program kept subtracting the position into the negative. Therefore, when sensor 1 had the higher reading (more light) it should have moved the servo in the positive direction by adding to the position but the position was so far negative that nothing moved. So we added parameters for the position from 0-180 degrees and adjusted the tolerance for the different sensor readings. After that it seemed to be working fine. The program also printed the sensor reading to the screen, which we used for trouble shooting. We also brought the wooden piece that we will use for the base of the prototype and the foam board that will be useful in making the project. But due to the short amount of time we have in lab, we couldn’t begin building the prototype. Thus, we will start work on it on next time we will meet. By the end of the class period, the instructors checked our progress on the project and gave us some useful comment that we will consider while we are doing the project.

Bread board design

Week 5

This week we worked on the mechanical construction of the Solar Tracker prototype. We discussed what type of material we should use. We did not want to use anything too heavy since the small electrical motor may not be able to handle the load. We used a lightweight foam board. We sketched the design that we created in week 5 on the foam board and cut it out using a knife. The two main parts were a "U" shaped bracket and a rectangular piece that will hold the solar panel and sensors. We glued one motor on the bottom of the bracket and the other on the side of the rectangle. We cut out a notch on the bracket this way the motor connected to the rectangular piece would be able to connect with the bracket. On the opposite side of the rectangular piece we inserted a paperclip through the bracket, this would keep the solar panel steady but still be able to rotate. We also cut out supports for the bottom of the bracket and glued them on for more support. Finally we created a wooden base with a rectangular cut out in the middle for the motor on the bottom of the bracket. 

Hole to be cut out for the motor in the base of the Solar Tracker

Final construction of Solar Tracker

Motor glued into the notch on the side of the foam board

Week 6

This week in lab we continued working on the Solar Tracker prototype. We connected he motors to the circuit board but found it not working. After looking at the code it seemed that some of the variables assigned to the light sensor readings were named differently. After assigning the variables the right names in all parts of the code the Solar Tracker was working fine. Also, the motors were not turning smoothly but as soon as we changed the delay time in the code the motor turn smoothly. In prior weeks we were concerned about not getting enough power to both of the motors. To fix that we used an old phone charger to power one of the motors. The picture below shows the power source that we created from the old phone charger. 

Alternative power supply for one of the motors

Week 7

This week in lab, we worked on finalizing the Solar Tracker prototype and test it. We attached the two solar panels to the board by cutting two holes in the board and insert the panels to the holes. After we test the prototype to see if it is working or not, we faced some problem with the wires and the weight of the solar panels. The wires were tangled that when the motors move to get the most density of light, they rip some of the wires off. Thus, we color coordinate the wires and arrange them in a way that does not tear the wires off. As regards of the weight of the panels, the were too heavy that some times let the board fall and slow down the movement of the motors. We thought of adding additional weight to both side of the board so it could balance it out, but that is just going to slower the movement more. Therefore, we figured the best solution is to remove one panel and use only one panel and put it in the center of the board. After fixing these issues, the prototype worked perfectly but has minor issues of the speed of the movement that we will deal with next time we meet.

Testing Solar Tracker with an actual solar panel

Week 8

During lab period, since we almost finished instructing our prototype, we worked on the presentation slides and layout. We wrote everything we did in this project on a piece of paper and then we started to classify them into separate sections. We will start our presentation with an intro of the project followed by the problem statement. After that, we will go through the design process and illustrate the construction of the design. Then, we go to the demonstration and testing of the solar tracker plus using videos for proper operation. In conclusion, we will discuss the results from testing and might do a practical example.

Week 9
We continued to work on our final presentation. We took video of the Solar Tracker actually working and will present this video in our final presentation. While taking the video we put the Solar Tracker under a lab table to simulate darkness then used a flashlight on a smartphone to simulate the sun to guide the Solar Tracker. Before presenting to the class next week we will meet up and prepare what will be said in the oral presentation.