Team members:
- Adeel Baig
- Andy Crahan
- Justin Eiler
- Jeffrey Morroni
- James Patterson
We propose to design an infrared tracking and solar supply system for use with a digital camcorder. It will feature a pan/tilt mounting system for tracking purposes and a small solar array to power all devices. Within the mounting system, one stepper motor adjusts the pan (left/right) movement while the second stepper motor adjusts the tilt (up/down) movement. The stepper motors will be controlled via the Xilinx Spartan 3 board. A finite state machine will be implemented to provide both automatic and manual control. The automatic control will be governed by an array of pyro-electric infrared sensors. Infrared radiation will be focused through a Fresnel lens at each sensor to increase the received radiation. A set of converters will be integrated into the solar power system to provide necessary voltages to power various loads and system components. A separate lead acid battery for the additional components and possibly the existing lithium ion battery will be recharged by the solar system allowing for night usage. For night filming, a high intensity LED cluster will be incorporated into the design. Possible additions to the project include: a solar tracking system to position solar panels for maximum power, a real time data acquisition link, video processing of acquired data, and a wireless manual control unit. There are several marketable applications for the system including home security, proximity alert, and live action filming.