Solar Orientating Adaptive Robot (S.O.A.R.)

The Solar tracking device on top of the mobile robot
Wiring set up for the solar tracker

Inspiration

Using solar energy to provide low cost, sustainable, and easily accessible electricity.

What it does

Solar panel that is able to follow the suns path throughout the day, in order to always be collecting the maximum amount of solar energy. Using this stored solar energy, it powers a battery allowing users to connect to the power source and use the electricity for their needs.

How we built it

Using an Arduino microcontroller, we powered a servo motor in order to move the solar panel about the y axis. One light sensor was attached to each corner of the solar panel which detect the amount of light reaching each corner of the panel. Using this principle, we created a program to move the servo motor in whichever direction maximized the amount of light hitting the solar panel.

Challenges we ran into

One challenge we ran into was finding a servo motor strong enough to rotate the solar panel about the x axis, which was our original plan. The hardware we were using broke halfway through the hackathon. Due to lack of time and resources, we fixed the solar panel at a 45 degree angle and stuck to rotating it 360 degrees about the y axis. This prevented us from accomplishing our reach goals of creating an app to interface with the mobile robot.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

The accomplishment that we're most proud of is overcoming the crucial hardware deficiencies in order to finish the solar panel which will track light 360 degrees about the y axis. Halfway through the project, our servos broke, so we had to figure out how to complete the original concept without the hardware we were expecting to have. We decided to focus on figuring out how to finish the hardware and had to nix the corresponding app and robot mobility. To overcome the adversity of having key elements fail, and still have a functioning product was a great accomplishment.

What we learned

We learned that creating a sustainable source of energy is not an easy task to accomplish, and requires certain resources that not everyone has access to. Because of this, we realized the importance of creating low cost solutions that can be easily implemented in African communities and provide substantial benefits for sustainable energy.

What's next for S.O.A.R.

Our next steps are to implement an additional servo motor in order to rotate the solar panel about the x axis so that the solar panel can always 100% maximize the amount of light intake. Additionally, we will attach the solar panel system to a mobile programmable robot that is linked to a web app allowing users to borrow the system for x amount of time.