2024 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Board 107: Emergency Sun-Tracking Solar Generator

Presented at Engineering Technology Division (ETD) Poster Session

In recent years, due to the growing electricity demand in modern societies and unforeseen natural disasters and catastrophic events, the number of power interruptions and outages has increased. The proposed emergency sun-tracking solar generator is designed and developed to address such power failure issues. The components used in this project and their functionalities are listed as follows: (i) A photoresistor array measures the luminosity level of the sun; (ii) a microcontroller (Arduino UNO) acquires the luminosity level data, calculates the desired solar photovoltaic panel angles for maximum sunlight energy absorption, and sends commands to servo motors; (iii) two servo motors control the tilt and rotation angles of the solar photovoltaic panel to orient it in the direction of maximum sunlight energy; and (iv) a stand-alone solar photovoltaic system collects the sunlight energy and generates electrical power for the entire system and external power outlets to be used in emergency situations. This project is sponsored by the National Science Foundation and conducted by a group of undergraduate students in the Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology program at New Jersey Institute of Technology.

Authors

Mr. Esteban Andres Garcia New Jersey Institute of Technology [biography]

Hello! My name is Esteban Garcia. I currently live in Boston, MA, but I grew up in New Jersey. I obtained my A.A.S. in Electronics Engineering Technology in 2021. I subsequently obtained my B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering Technology from NJIT in 2023. I am currently working for Cushman & Wakefield Services as a Control System Technician. I am helping launch a 3.8 million sqare foot state of the art Amazon logistics facility from the Controls side of things, utilizing SCADA systems, Ethernet/IP networks, and troubleshooting hardware and electrical systems.
Joseph Trapani New Jersey Institute of Technology
Bobby Emmanuel-Okafor
Frank Fenner New Jersey Institute of Technology [biography]

NJIT ECET graduate of the spring 2023 Class.
Milad Shojaee New Jersey Institute of Technology [biography]

MILAD SHOJAEE (Graduate Student Member, IEEE) received the B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the Hamedan University of Technology, Hamedan, Iran, in 2012, and the M.S. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran, in 2016. He is currently pursuing the Ph.D. degree with the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, New Jersey Institute of Technology, Newark, NJ, USA. His research interests include modeling, robust control, decentralized control, fault diagnosis, renewable energies, and machine learning.
Alex Blinder
Dr. Mohsen Azizi http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8178-2520 New Jersey Institute of Technology [biography]

Mohsen Azizi is an assistant professor in the School of Applied Engineering and Technology at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). He received the M.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees in electrical and computer engineering from Concordia University, Montreal, Canada, in 2005 and 2010, respectively. From 2010 to 2013, he was an R&D engineer at Aviya Tech Inc. and Pratt & Whitney Canada Inc., Longueuil, Canada, where he designed and developed control and fault diagnosis systems for jet engines. His research has been focused on decentralized control and fault diagnosis techniques in microgrids, renewable energy systems, mechatronics, and aerospace.

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