IJSTE - International Journal of Science Technology & Engineering | Volume 3 | Issue 01 | July 2016

ISSN (online): 2349-784X

Dual Axis Sun Tracking Embedded System

Sushant M. Bhasme
M. Tech. Scholar
Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering
PES University, Bengaluru. India

Prof. Mahendra M. Nayak

Associate Professor
Department of Electrical and Electronics Engineering
PES IT, Bangalore, India

Abstract
The tracking system which can track the suns path is necessary to harvest as much as suns energy throughout the day. As Suns
energy is abundantly available free energy in earth, we can make maximum use of such energy. A PCB board for sun tracking
system has been developed which suits the application for tracking mechanism. This paper stresses on a unique method used for
tracking mechanism. A parabolic sun light collector is being placed in the research lab, which collects the sun light throughout
the day to lighten a dark room where sun light is not available. The PCB board designed takes external power supply to power up
motors and microcontroller. The PMDC (Permanent Magnet DC) motors are used for the operation. Atmega16 is the main
controller for the PCB board designed.
Keywords: RTC, SPA, PMDC, HA_Motor, DEC_Motor
________________________________________________________________________________________________________
I.

INTRODUCTION

Modern techniques which involve power generation using fossil fuels, nuclear energy, and coal power etc. are major drawbacks
to keep Mother Nature safe. This is the reason behind where every researchers and students gets motivated to take interest in
these areas so as to keep develop new ideas which can save nature. Sun light collecting system using solar panels and converting
it to electricity was the system which was the best solution developed to make use of suns energy. This technology
revolutionalised the industry world. The technique was first developed using fixed panels for collecting the suns energy. The
sun light collecting methods lead the researchers to develop the sun tracking systems to collect maximum sun light by following
the path of the sun throughout the day.
Coming to Literature survey, there are many IEEE papers, National and International conference papers, journals presented on
Sun tracking systems. A unique technique to track the sun throughout the day to lighten up a dark room has been developed. This
unique technique is different from the other sun tracking systems available in market. The tracking system is designed in such a
manner that it can be used for solar panels and for lighting system using optical fibers. Paper [1] discusses about the low cost
dual axis tracking system developed by researchers to improve the tracking position of the panels to follow the suns path. In this
paper the suns positioning technique is explained. The error in measuring suns path with respect to the rotation of motor is
demonstrated. Paper [2] discusses about the Mini-dish based solar light collector system. In this paper the researchers have
developed the system, which collect the sun light through optical fiber. The structure used is parabolic light collecting system.
The sun light is being captured via parabolic reflector and is made to pass through optical fibers. Paper [3] explains a
microcontroller based sun tracking system which had two axis rotations. In this system, the researchers used solar panels to
harvest the sun light and generate electricity. Microcontroller based automatic tracking was developed in this paper. Paper [4]
demonstrates the motor rotation technique for sun tracking system achieving the degree of rotation up to 3.5 degree rotation. This
paper illustrates the open loop configuration in which the inputs were RTC (Real Time Clock), SPA (Sun Position Algorithm).
Solar panels were used for the operation.
Taking into consideration all the above papers, we have designed our own encoder system for the sun tracking system. The
encoder system is explained in the further sections. The tracking mechanism has been developed such that the same mechanism
can be used for other robotic purposes and electronic applications. Up to the date, the sun tracking devices available in the
market are the automatic trackers, sun trackers using LDRs (Light Dependent Resistors), Sun trackers using Microcontroller,
Fuzzy logic etc. For the current sun tracking system, we are using Microcontroller as the main controller/CPU and the program is
being loaded in the same.
The main objective of this paper is to design a PCB board and develop it assembling the required tools. A mechanical structure
which is a parabolic sun light reflector is being placed in the research laboratory of PES University, Bengaluru. Since the
mechanical structure was lagging with the tracking system, we had to develop the embedded system for the sun tracking purpose.
After the completion of the embedded system for sun tracking, the same is being attached to the mechanical structure present for
testing purpose and once the testing is being done successfully, the whole mechanical structure with the sun tracking embedded
system will be placed on the top floor of the college building. The same will be used for different application purposes. The
mechanical structure and the embedded system designed are explained in the further sections.
The sun tracking system designed in this paper is for such sun tracking system, which takes power from external sources. The
sun tracking system is being developed such that to harvest maximum of sun light and pass it through the optical fibers mounted
with the parabolic sun light reflector mechanical structure. It is proved by researchers that compared to fixed collector; tracking

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collector system increases the sun light collection by 40%. In tracking system the parabolic reflector or the solar panels always
maintain the perpendicularity with the sun.
The sun tracking systems are divided into two types, open loop tracking system and closed loop tracking system. The
following figure illustrates the types of tracking system used worldwide.

Fig. 1: Types of tracking system.

The tracking system used in this paper is open loop, two axis sun tracker system. There are three types of trackers available,
which are Horizontal-Axis Tracker, Tilted-Axis Tracker and Vertical-Axis Tracker. The two axis sun tracker, North-South
(Elevation), East-West (Azimuth) tracking systems tracks the sun in dual axis so the suns vector when normal to the aperture,
obtains sun light percentage of 100.
II. BLOCK DIAGRAM
The block diagram depicts the pictorial representation of the sun tracking embedded system developed. In the block diagram, we
have used encoder and decoder which are new to the system configurations. The encoder and decoder specification are explained
in further sections. The block diagram shows how the power supply is being taken externally. Since we are not going for solar
panel, we are taking power supply externally.

Fig. 2: Block diagram of the Sun tracking embedded system.

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As shown in the above figure, two Atmega16 controllers are being used. One is master Atmega16 and other is slave Atmega16
controller. While designing PCB board, we had to consider many parameters which include the proximity sensors placed on
mechanical structure and LED drivers and we were running out of ports in master Atmega16, we had to assemble a slave
Atmega16 controller. An external 24V DC power supply is required to power up the PMDC motors used. It is controlled by 24V
Relay drivers. Two separate PMDC motors are used for North-South (HA_motor) direction and East-West (DEC_motor)
direction. There is 5V supply of voltage to Microcontroller and a ground connection. Two motor drivers LMD18245 ICs have
been used for PWM control and direction control. HCTL2022 Decoder is being used for the operation of sun tracking. The whole
mechanism of the sun tracking system lies within Encoder and Decoder configuration. Encoder and decoder part is explained in
further sections. Proximity sensors are placed on the parabolic mechanical structure. These proximity sensors detect the extreme
North, South, East, West situations. LED drivers are used for LED lights; these LED lights will glow for different operations
during the sun tracking operation.
Sun Position Algorithm (SPA) is used for the operation purpose. SPA is a sub program, programmed with sun tracking
program. Inputs like current time, date, location co-ordinates helps to determine the current suns position. The mathematical
formula includes the precession control of the suns movement throughout the day. A predefined time is given as to when the sun
tracking program must start. Depending on the Encoder and Decoder values, the whole operation is carried out. The SPA is
programmed in Master microcontroller. Slave controller controls the Relays and proximity sensors. The master and slave are
connected parallel via ports. I2C bus is used for communication between Main controller and RTC (Real Time Control).
Earth rotates 360 degree per day on its axis. On day time earth rotates 180 degree from East in the morning to West in the
night. Taking the concept of earth rotation, encoder is being designed. For the encoder to work properly, HCTL2022 decoder is
being chosen. As earth rotates 180 degree in day time, for one minute earth rotates 0.25 degree. The sun tracking embedded
system is programmed to follow the suns path throughout the day using the concept of 0.25 degree per minute
movement/rotation programmed using ISR (Interrupt Service Routine) and SPA.
Timer1 is used for ISR, Timer0 and Timer2 are used for PWM signals.
III. ENCODER AND DECODER CONFIGURATION
The whole mechanism of the sun tracking system designed in this paper depends on the encoder and decoder configuration. The
encoder designed in this paper is unique and can be used for other robotic applications. The Encoder is placed on the PMDC
motors. Decoders are placed on the PCB board designed.
Decoder
The Decoder used for the operation is HCTL2022. HCTL2022 is a quadrature pulse decoder. Encoder is explained in next
section. The decoder can accept up to two channels (CHA, CHB) from encoder part. This decoder acts as counter, which counts
the pulses on every rising edge and falling edge of encoder pulses. This IC is often a good choice to use in digital closed loop
motion system to improve system performance. Two HCTL2022 decoders are used for two separate set of encoders placed on
two PMDC motors. The program for decoder is programmed in Atmega16 controller.
Encoder

Fig. 3: Photo Interrupter ICs placed on PMDC motor.

The encoder has been designed using aluminum disc and two photo interrupter ICs. The encoder is GP1A51HRJ00F. In order to
get 0.25 degree per minute, 50 holes have been made on the shaft rotor. The two photo interrupter IC have been placed such that,
the pulses produced from encoder are exactly 90 degrees in phase to each other. At the start of the operation, some target is
given, so that the motor starts rotating. The final target is considered to be 180 degree rotation. There are 50 holes made, the gear
turn ratio of PMDC motor is 30:1. Hence we can calculate that 50 X 30 which equals 1500 pulses for 360 degrees rotation of
PMDC motor. Since we need only 180 degrees, we are considering only 750 pulses. Now, in decoder one pulse corresponds to 4

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counts, hence we can easily find the number of counts required for 180 degrees rotation, that will be 3000 counts. Hence for the
full day time, the final target will be set as 3000 counts. In this case, target is given as 4 or SPA in our case, since there are two
channels CHA and CHB placed 90 degrees phase shift with each other. The 50 holes made on aluminum plate crosses the two
photo interrupter ICs. The IC detects low pulse as holes and high pulse without holes. The photo interrupter IC produces two
pulses when one push is given in PMDC motor. These two pulses when read in decoder it counts four counts information which
corresponds to one PWM pulse. The counts may vary according to the designers wish. If the target is set for 8 counts, then the
PMDC motor rotates once in 2 minutes achieving 0.5 degrees. This technique has been successfully used in sun tracking
embedded system.
IV. FLOWCHART AND METHODOLOGY
Main Program Flow

Fig. 4: Flowchart of main program

The flowchart of the sun tracking system is as displayed above. The operation starts with initializing microcontroller input and
outputs. Decoders get reset at the power on. PWM and timers gets initialized. The software used to display the sun tracking
operation is Real Term software with 2400 bps baud rate. The results have been displayed in results section

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ISR (Interrupt Service Routine) program flow

Fig. 5: Interrupt Service Routine (ISR) Flowchart.

In the main program after the sun position is determined, the sun tracking operation starts. This sun tracking operation is
programmed in ISR program. Depending on the frequency of the controller, we get the ISR time. In this case, ISR is called once
in 10ms. To get 1 minute, counter variable is used in ISR program. 5999 counts correspond to 60 seconds or 1 minute, i.e., we
set counter to count from 0 to 5999 which equals 6000 counts. Once counter crosses 5999 count, Target is set for the PMDC
motors. Once the target is set, comparison is done between the decoder counts and target value. When the decoder counts exceed
the target value, the motor stops and get activated on next ISR call. If the decoder count is less than the target value, PWM
control is given to the motor. The operation of ISR is as shown below.
For DEC_motor target will be set as,
DEC_Motor_Target = DEC_decoder_counts + SPA count.
HA_Motor_Target = HA_decoder_counts + SPA count.
V. PCB BOARD DESIGN
The components used to develop PCB board are two atmega16 controllers, two HCTL2022 decoders, two LMD18245 motor
drivers, 3 switches, 3 24V Relays, LED driver ULN2803 IC, 16 LED lights, Max232, 74HCT IC heavy load drivers, RTC with
battery, DB9 connectors and DB15 connectors, 14 Opto-couplers, Resistor, capacitor and fuses. The LED driver and LED lights
were used only for testing purpose. The assembly top view of the PCB board is as shown below.

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Fig. 6: The assembly top view of PCB board designed.

The RTC is Real Time Clock, which can be used to start the tracking mechanism at a particular time in morning and end up at
the particular time set in the evening. The RTC is placed as an optional IC. Since the whole tracking mechanism depends on the
encoder and decoder, RTC can be eliminated for the operation. In SPA sub program too, final target can be given. The final
decoder count is known, once the final decoder count like 3000 count for a day is set, the tracker continues the operation till
3000 counts, once this count is achieved the parabolic reflector or solar panels is bought back to its original position where the
operation was started at the morning. Hence we do not need RTC. The external power is taken via DB9 connectors and DB15
connector is connected to the encoders of PMDC motor.
VI. SOFTWARE AND MECHANICAL STRUCTURE
For the operation of the sun tracking system, Atmels AVR studio 4 has been used. The programming language used is
Embedded C. To display the results on PC/Laptop, Real Term software is used with 2400 baud rate.
The mechanical structure used for the operation is parabolic sun light reflector. It is named as PSL (Passive Sun Light)
collector system in the research laboratory. The mechanical structure is as shown below and its specification is,

Fig. 7: Parabolic Sun Light reflector placed in Research Lab.

The specification of the mechanical structure is as follows,

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Table 1
Parabolic reflector specification

VII. RESULTS
PCB board was tested manually and then tested on the parabolic mechanical structure present in the research laboratory. First
the manual mode program was tested using switches present on PCB board. There are 3 switches, in which one switch is used to
start the operation. As second switch is pressed, the North-South (HA_motor) rotates 0.24 degree per switch press and the third
switch for East-West (DEC_motor). Next the tracking program is tested. The results of the tracking system are as below.

Fig. 8: DEC_motor result.

As shown in the above result snapshot of Real Term software, the DEC_motor target is set as 12 counts and the
DEC_Decoder_count is 8 counts. The motor moves extra 4 counts to achieve 12 counts.

Fig. 9: HA_motor result.

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For the testing purpose only the seasonal motor (HA_motor) is used. Target is set as 1 once in predefined ISR call for
HA_motor. The result is displayed on Real Term software.
The sun light collected using the parabolic mechanical structure using optical fiber is as displayed below.

Fig. 10: Lights obtained via optical fiber.

The light obtained results is as below,

Table 2
Results obtained with sun tracker installed on parabolic sun light collector system.
Sun Light
Obtained Display (Intensity of Light) in Luminance.
Full sun light (Sunny day)
500 600 Lux.
Partial Sun Light (Cloudy)
200 300 Lux

Fig. 11: The sun light via optical fiber.

VIII. APPLICATIONS AND ADVANTAGES

Used as an alternative source of energy in Industries.

Can be used domestically for house, office, etc.
Solar tracker is used for both solar panel and parabolic reflector sun light collector.
IX. CONCLUSION

All the testing and work was carried out in Crucible of Research and Innovation (CORI) laboratory, PES University. The PCB
board designed has been handed over to the laboratory. The PCB board has the feature of RTC also, so one can make use of RTC
and Sun Position Algorithm for continuous operation of sun tracking system even for seasonal movement. Further LDRs (Light
Dependent Resistors) sensors can be used using the same PCB board for the closed loop system to work.
REFERENCES
[1]

Dimitrija Angelkov, Natasa Koceska, Saso Koceskis Low-cost Dual-axis System for Solar Tracking pp 169-172, 2014, 3rd Mediterranean Conference
on Embedded Computing. Budva, Montenegro. MECO-2014.

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[2]
[3]
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]

Michael A. Soderstrand, Synapse International, Sung Baek Lee, Ireh Controls, Peter Chung, Solar Power Energy System, Inc.s Mini-Dish Based Hybrid
Concentrated Solar Power(CSP) System for Home Use pp 689-692, 2013, IEEE conference Invited papers.
Salih FADIL, Ahmet Can APAR, Kerim A_LARs Two Axis Solar Tracker Design and Implementation, pp 554-557, 2013, IEEE conference.
A.H. Yamin, M. N. Ibrahim, M. Idroas and A.R. Zins Embedded Solar Tracking Instrumentation System pp 223-227, 2013 IEEE 7th International
Power Engineering and Optimization Conference (PEOCO2013), Langkawi, Malaysia. 3-4 June 2013.
Nur Mohammad, Tarequl Karim, Design and Implementation of Hybrid Automatic Solar Tracking System, Journal of Solar Energy Engineering 2012
by ASME February 2013, Vol. 135.
Mohammed Mostefa, Ph.D., IEEE, and Abdul Al-Azzawi, Ph.D, Patrick Couture, IEEE, SMIEEE Algonquin College, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Designs
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Karunakar Praveen, Ravi, Rajath, Passive Solar lighting system using fiber optics A Research report under the guidance of Dr.V.K.Agarwal, Director,
CoRI, PES University, Bangalore.

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