Methodical Madness Considers New Constraints

So, Karl put out an e-mail this morning re-defining the constraints for the final project, less than a day after I feel that I constrained the final project quite well. We are now building a robust solar tracker, contrary to the crappy less-than-robust solar trackers we built previously. However, I do still feel that there are two options for a basis for the final project. This is expanding an opinion from my previous post.

Option A: The Solar Tracker

Something that moves or grows to follow the intensity/path of the sun. Essentially, something that maximizes its own efficiency. I feel that the organic growth is intriguing, but difficult, considering the time constraint.

Option B: The Solar Binary

Something that activates or deactivates in the presence of sunlight. Is not overtly affected by intensity of sunlight, only by the fact that there is sunlight.

This does take the majority of the robotic mobility options off the table, at least in theory. I feel like the new constraint will probably bring the project down to earth pretty quickly. Should not be much trouble generating a project at my group's meeting today. I already have a pretty neat idea that meets all of my requirements:

Solar Umbrella

Not an umbrella in the sense that it protects from rain, but instead in the sense that it protects from sunlight - pillars that could be located in a park, the tops of which would expand out into a solar array that would both generate energy for surrounding park lights and create a sort of mechanical tree which people could sit under for shade. Would close up when there is a lack of sunlight, and the very top of the pillar would be a protective cover that would protect the panels from harm due to inclement weather. The pillar itself would house a collection of batteries to store energy, which would be drawn from by nearby lights at night, and also would have power plugs if people wanted to sit under them with laptops, charge their cell phones, etc. It's kind of been done on a smaller scale, but not in a heliotropic and smart way, just in that it is a solar surface.