Hello to all you members that know a WHOLE lot more than I do. I have a lengthy background in radio control and am now starting to have interest in the robotic end of my hobby. My son and I have decided we would like to build a science project, that would showcase a miniature solar array ( approx. 12" x 18") built onto a servo driven pan and tilt platform. We would like to be able to operate the array with bot a radio control and a tracking sensor. We envision holding a known, or recognized device in front of the array, where the sensors would then follow an track the movement of our object (the object would represent the sun) and move the array accordingly. I would greatly appreciate anyones help or suggestions.
Wow! Fast response. Thank you very much for your info. I will research the components that you reccomended, then see if I can find some resources on how to connect and control these items for my purpose. It would be prefferable to build the system to recognize an object or color. Look forward to this project.
The CMUCam4 has 2 servo ports built in. Under what circumstance could one use the built in ports instead of an external adapter as in @blasterplow’s example? The reason for my question is I am currently designing a vision system using the CAmCam4 and am wondering whether I need to purchase an external servo adapter board
Tracking the sun is very simple when using a solar panel array. You can use the solar panels as sensors and measure their output voltage to know when they are facing the sun. That same could be done indoors for a demo using a powerful light.
Also, the sun moves in a predictable way so you could track it just by adjusting the angle according to the time of the day.
If you are willing to recognize and track an object, the you will need to use a camera with some image processing capabilities such as the CMUcam4.
In any case, you will also need a pan and tilt rig, a microcontroller such as an Arduino, and an adapter to connect your servos.