Expectations and Achievements

Our system was able to successfully track a light source to a certain extent and use intelligent power conservation techniques to minimize battery usage and provide lasting functionality throughout a long period of time. The motor control appeared to be slightly flawed and less responsive than we would have hoped. With better calibration we expect the system to perform much better. Additionally, due to a wiring error during testing, we burnt the PowerBoost 1000 chip and were unable to order a new part due to time constraints of the project. As a result we were unable to test the system outdoor under actual sunlight and solar conditions. Despite this hiccup, the system mostly performed to our satisfaction with the exception of the glitchy motor control.

Intellectual Property Considerations

Our system did not directly infringe upon any of the existing patents (discussed in the High Level Design page) due to our addition of basic power conservation functionality that makes it a unique system. We also did not build a solar panel and used a commercially available solution unlike what is claimed by some of the patents. In addition we did not borrow anyone else’s code or use any code in the public domain.

Due to the simplistic nature of the designed system, there is no particular opportunity to obtain a patent for the designed system. By law, patents are targeted towards inventions that are “non-obvious” and while our designed system is not obvious in itself, it is quite possible for someone else to come up with a similar idea without much hassle.