Suntracker

Included for nostalgic purposes. This is the project that got me started in engineering, completed in my senior year of undergraduate Physics studies at UCLA. Phototransistor array oriented on a portion on a unit circle. Voltage through phototransistor is highly dependent on angle of incidence. By reading voltage differentials across array, you can control a step motor to move the array in the direction of the sun (designed and built the stepper motor hardware and drivers). The idea was to use with a solar panel array to orient angle of incidence for optimal efficiency.

In the embedded video above, watch the step motor turn in opposite directions when light is flashed into either side of the phototransistor array.

Experience with circuit design, embedded systems design, firmware development, Arduino C