A sensorless MPPT-based solar tracking control approach for mobile autonomous systems

This paper presents a new approach to the solar tracking control. Today several methods are used to minimize the angle of incidence between the incoming sunlight and the photovoltaic (PV) panel. Most of them require optical solar sensor(s) to maximize energy output. There are approaches where geolocation data and the timetable of the Sun's position support a solar tracking mechanism. This paper proposes a novel sensorless (no optical or geo positioning sensors required) solar tracking mechanism based on a maximum power point tracking (MPPT) control for a mobile autonomous PV system. Such a system would provide an automatic PV panel position adjustment towards the Sun using a sensorless 3-DOF solar tracker system with a MPPT based control.