Remote identification of solar panels using QR code recognition and image watermarking

The development of a solar plant is an investment that requires the allocation of a large land area, where a huge number of panels are installed. Each panel has manufacturer features written usually in the back. This data with corresponding panel photo are interesting to save in order to ensure an efficient monitoring. The task of identifying panels with related features seems arduous and requires significant human and financial resources. In this paper, we propose a system to carry out easily this task. We start by preparing the solar plant by generating for each panel the corresponding QR code issued from manufacturer features to be printed and posted near the each one. Then, by using a computer equipped with a digital camera, the proposed system acquires the panels' photos and identifies remotely (1 to 3 meters) the corresponding features using a new improved QR code recognition algorithm, and finally the system embeds this data on the image using the LSB watermarking technique.