Solar array including solar modules distributed in rows (10), each solar module having a solar collector carried by a single-axis solar tracker (4), a reference solar power plant including a central reference solar module and at least one secondary reference solar module, and a piloting unit adapted for: piloting the angular orientation of the central reference module according to a central reference orientation setpoint corresponding to an initial orientation setpoint, piloting the orientation of each secondary reference module according to a secondary reference orientation setpoint corresponding to the initial orientation setpoint shifted by a predefined offset angle; receiving an energy production value from each reference module; piloting the orientation of the modules, except for the reference modules, by applying the reference orientation setpoint associated to the reference module having the highest production value.

A robotic actuator comprises a mass manufactured bellows, wherein the mass manufactured bellows allows a volume change by localized bending, and wherein the mass manufactured bellows is formed from a material that has a higher strength in at least two axes relative to at most one other axis, and an end effector, wherein the end effector is coupled to the manufactured bellows.

The adjustable bracket for a solar panel is configured for use with a solar panel array and the associated panel rack. The adjustable bracket for a solar panel aligns each of the one or more solar panels during the attachment of the one or more solar panels to the panel rack. The adjustable bracket for a solar panel comprises plurality of rafters and a panel support. The panel support attaches to the plurality of rafters. The plurality of rafters attaches to the panel rack. The panel support prevents movement by the one or more solar panels in the direction of the pitch. The plurality of rafters prevent lateral movement of the one or more solar panels relative to the pitch.

A method for controlling the orientation of a solar module including a single-axis solar tracker orientable about an axis of rotation, and a photovoltaic device supported by said tracker and having upper and lower photoactive faces, including: measurement of a distribution of the solar luminance called incident luminance originating from the incident solar radiation coming from the sky to reach the upper face, said distribution being established according to several elevation angles; measurement of a distribution of the solar luminance called reflected luminance originating from the albedo solar radiation corresponding to the reflection of the solar radiation on the ground to reach the lower face, said distribution being established according to several elevation angles; determination of an optimum orientation considering the measurements of said distributions of the incident and reflected solar luminance; servo-control of the orientation of the module on said optimum orientation.

The solar energy and solar farms are used to generate energy and reduce dependence on oil (or for environmental purposes). The maintenance, operation, optimization, and repairs in big farms become very difficult, expensive, and inefficient, using human technicians. Thus, here, we teach using the robots with various functions and components, in various settings, for various purposes, to improve operations in big (or hard-to-access) farms, to automate, save money, reduce human mistakes, increase efficiency, or scale the solutions to very large scales or areas, e.g., for repair, operation, calibration, testing, maintenance, adjustment, cleaning, improving the efficiency, and tracking the Sun.

A fluidic solar actuation array, the fluidic solar actuation array comprising a plurality of separate actuator nodes disposed in a node line. The node line comprises a set of two or more actuator nodes and a pressure supply line that fluidically couples the set of two or more actuator nodes, with each of the two or more actuator nodes comprising a fluidic solar actuator that includes at least a first fluidic inflatable actuator.

A solar rotational manufacturing system having a monitoring device, a controller, a heliostat having a heliostat controller, a rotational apparatus having a rotational controller, and a mold, wherein the monitoring device is configured to collect actual data regarding a characteristic of the solar rotational heating system and transmit actual data to the controller, the controller is configured to receive a reference parameter, an affecting parameter, and linking instructions, receive actual data from the monitoring device, compare actual data with a reference parameter, determine an affecting parameter to alter, and transmit alteration instructions to the heliostat controller and/or the rotational controller, the heliostat controller is configured to receive the alteration instructions from the controller and execute the alteration instructions, and the rotational controller is configured to receive the alteration instructions from the controller and execute the alteration instructions.

A sun tracking system for use with a solar panel is disclosed. The system has an actuator configured to cause a change in orientation of a solar panel; and a logic controller configured to control the actuator in accordance with a schedule so as to change the orientation of the solar panel. The schedule includes a set of times throughout a day when the orientation of the solar panel will be changed, an orientation of the solar panel being associated with each time. The schedule can include a set of target orientations of the solar panel, each target orientation being associated with a time of day, including: sunrise+1 hour, sunrise+4 hours, sunrise+7 hours, and sunrise+10 hours, where each of the four orientations of the solar panel is most direct with respect to the position of the sun at that time of day.

A solar tracking device having: a primary optical sensor (30); at least two auxiliary optical sensors (70a, 70b); and a housing. The housing has an upper surface (80) with a central hole (100; 62; 82) below which the primary sensor (30) is disposed and light wells (22; 25), disposed laterally around the central hole (100; 62; 82), in which each of the respective auxiliary sensors (70a, 70b) is disposed. Each light well (22; 25) has a bottom surface (15) on which the associated auxiliary sensor (70a, 70b) is disposed, an aperture (84) in the upper surface, and sidewalls (22) connecting the upper surface and the bottom surface. One of the sidewalls (22) is a light-reflective surface (25) disposed parallel to a tangent of the central hole, all other sidewalls being light-absorbing.

Solar array including solar modules distributed in rows (10), each solar module having a solar collector carried by a single-axis solar tracker (4), a reference solar power plant including a central reference solar module and at least one secondary reference solar module, and a piloting unit adapted for: piloting the angular orientation of the central reference module according to a central reference orientation setpoint corresponding to an initial orientation setpoint, piloting the orientation of each secondary reference module according to a secondary reference orientation setpoint corresponding to the initial orientation setpoint shifted by a predefined offset angle; receiving an energy production value from each reference module; piloting the orientation of the modules, except for the reference modules, by applying the reference orientation setpoint associated to the reference module having the highest production value.