Claims:CLAIMS

I/We claim:
1. A method (500) for smart cleaning of solar panels based on measuring and monitoring of solar panel contamination, the method comprising:
a contaminant detection and cleaning device (1021) that comprises a reference solar panel (302), one or more solar panels (304) monitored for presence of contaminants, and an integrated autonomous robotic cleaner (306), wherein the contaminant detection and cleaning device (1021) is configured to perform operations that comprise:
continuously benchmarking a reference power generation capacity associated with the cleaned reference solar panel (302);
continuously detecting a power generated by the one or more solar panels (304), wherein:
if the power generated by the one or more solar panels (304) is less than the power generated by the reference solar panel (302), one or more measurements are performed on the one or more solar panels (304), to determine presence of contaminants on the surface of the one or more solar panels (304), and
wherein performing smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels (304) is performed by the autonomous robotic cleaner (306) after detection of the contaminants.

2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the one or more solar panels (304) are identical to the reference solar panel (302).

3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the measurements comprise measuring one or more of: a short circuit current and a temperature associated with the one or more solar panels (304).

4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein one or more measurements are performed on the reference solar panel (302) after the smart cleaning of the reference solar panel (302) and before the one or more measurements are performed on the one or more solar panels.

5. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the smart cleaning of the reference solar panel (302) is performed at pre-defined time intervals for ensure maximum rated power generation by the reference solar panel (302) at any instant of time.

6. The method as claimed in claim 5, wherein the smart cleaning of the reference solar panel (302) is performed before the one or more measurements performed on the reference solar panel (302).

7. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the reference solar panel (302) and the one or more solar panels (304) are connected to a SCADA system (104) using an RF/GSM based Internet-of –Things (IoT) protocols and internetworking

8. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the SCADA system (104) is located at a location which is remote with respect to the location of the solar panels.

9. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the SCADA system (104) is located within a same solar plant having the reference solar panel (302) and the one or more solar panels (304).

10. The method as claimed in claim 7, wherein the integrated autonomous robotic cleaner (306) performs smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels (304) based on one or more instructions received by the contaminant detection and cleaning device (1021), from the SCADA system (104).

11. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contaminant detection and cleaning device (1021) is configured to autonomously perform smart cleaning of the solar panels in a solar farm, if the power generated by the one or more solar panels (304) is less than the reference power generation capacity.

12. The method as claimed in claim 11, wherein the smart cleaning is based on correlation of the reduced power generated by the one or more solar panels (304) with historically performed smart cleaning, wherein the correlation is based on an Artificial Intelligence (AI) modelling and data analytics of the generated power and requirement for smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels (304).

13. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contaminant detection and cleaning device (1021) is powered based on the power generated by the reference solar panel (302) and/or the one or more solar panels (304) present in the contaminant detection and cleaning device (1021).

14. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the presence of contaminants is determined based on one or more of: a short circuit current associated with a solar panel, voltage level associated with a solar panel, back-panel temperature of a solar panel, one or more obstructions sensed on the surface of a solar panel, moisture content on the surface of a solar panel, and transmittance of light irradiated on the surface of a solar panel.

15. The method claimed in claim 1, where in the reference solar panel (302) power output being an ideally cleaned panel, is adopted as a reference to estimate the ideal power generation of an entire solar plant in the same location using AI techniques and data analytics.

16. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the contaminant detection and cleaning device (1021) corresponds to a multi-wheeled robot equipped with a plurality of cleaning brushes, removably mounted on a solar array comprising the reference solar panel (302) and the one or more solar panels (304).

17. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein an azimuth and height of the contaminant detection and cleaning device (1021) in mounted state is mechanically adjustable.

18. A contaminant detection and cleaning device (1021) comprising:
a multi-wheeled autonomous robot cleaner comprising:
a plurality of cleaning brushes,
a bracket for removably mounting the contaminant detection and cleaning device (1021) on a solar array comprising a reference solar panel (302) and one or more solar panels (304) meant for performing contaminant detection, wherein an azimuth and height of the contaminant detection and cleaning device (1021) in mounted state is mechanically adjustable,
a processor, and
a memory communicatively coupled to the processor, wherein the memory stores processor instructions, which, on execution, cause the processor to:
continuously benchmarking a reference power generation capacity associated with the cleaned reference solar panel (302);
continuously detecting at least a power generated by the one or more solar panels (304), wherein:
if the power generated by the one or more solar panels (304) is less than the power generated by the reference solar panel (302), one or more measurements are performed on the one the one or more solar panels (304), to determine presence of contaminants on the surface of the one or more solar panels (304), and
wherein performing smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels (304) is performed by the autonomous robotic cleaner (306) after detection of the contaminants.

Dated January 20, 2022

Chaitanya Rajendra Zanpure
Agent for Applicant
IN-PA-2282

, Description:FORM 2
THE PATENTS ACT 1970
[39 OF 1970]
&
THE PATENTS RULES, 2003

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION
[See section 10; Rule 13]
TITLE: “METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PERFORMING CLEANING OF SOLAR PANELS BASED ON MONITORING SOLAR PANEL CONTAMINATION”

Name and Address of the Applicant:
INDISOLAR PRODUCTS PRIVATE LIMITED
34, Nakshatra villas
Balapur, Hyderabad
500005, Telangana

Nationality: Indian
The following specification particularly describes the invention and the manner in which it is performed.

METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PERFORMING CLEANING OF SOLAR PANELS BASED ON MONITORING SOLAR PANEL CONTAMINATION
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0001] The presently disclosed embodiments are related, in general, to cleaning of solar panel. More particularly, the presently disclosed embodiments are related to methods and systems for performing cleaning of solar panels based on monitoring presence of contaminants on solar panels by an interconnected Internet-of-Things (IoT) device.
BACKGROUND
[0002] Solar plants includes of photovoltaic (PV) cell rows that are laid in rows and columns in multiplicity. The grid of the PV cells arranged may be arranged in a contiguous fashion to form a single PV row. In a solar farm, multiple PV rows exist for generating power at scale.
[0003] Typically, the amount of power generated by the solar cells is directly proportional to the amount of sunlight received. Presence of any contaminants on the surface of the solar cells directly hampers the ability to produce power. For example, deposition of dust on the surface of the solar panels leads to reduction on the power generation capacity. Consequently, solar panels in a solar farm are required to be manually cleaned at periodic intervals ranging from one week to a month. This may depend on the environmental conditions in the area, such as periodicity of dust storms, pollution levels, precipitation, and the like. In some solar farms, robotic cleaner may be employed and the panels are cleaned at set times in a day and at periodic intervals.
[0004] As the dust conditions vary among solar plants located in remote and various geographies, cleaning at pre-defined periodic intervals automatically and/or manually may result in unnecessary operation. This may especially be the case when the dust profile in the area varies randomly due to the external factors. Conversely, the cleaning operation may also prove to be infrequent or inadequate when the dust profile increases due to seasonal variations in weather conditions, such as increase in dust storm frequency in a desert.
[0005] To alleviate the issues above, various contaminant detection (dust sensing) technologies have been in use that predicate the cleaning operation on the sensing of contaminants on the surface of solar cells. Such contaminant detection (dust sensing) equipment broadly fall in two categories – Optical (amount of light passing) and two-PV panel (short circuit current and temperature measurement). The standard “IEC 61724-1: Photovoltaic system performance monitoring – Guidelines for measurement, data exchange and analysis specifications for soil measurement” recommends the contaminant detection based on two-panel system mentioned above.
[0006] In the two panel systems, one panel is considered as reference type and the second panel is for dust measurement. In both cases, short circuit current and back panel temperatures are measured. After compensating for temperatures, current measurements provide the measurements on presence of contaminants (such as dust measurements) in SI units, i.e., gm/cm2 or gm/m2. For this the panels need to be calibrated. It is also required to use similar panels for this type of system. It is also required to clean the reference solar panel before dust measurement is taken. After measurement are performed, the results may be communicated to a central server. Subsequently, both the dust measurement panel and the reference solar panel must be cleaned to be ready for next cycle of measurement.
[0007] While many products with two panel types exist, none of the products have fully autonomous integrated robotic cleaner systems that clean the panels without any manual intervention. Conventional method dictates cleaning the reference solar panel and performing measurements for generating contaminant profile, such as distribution of dust present on the surface of the solar panels. In most systems the measured data is communicated to the central monitoring station for analysis purposes. After taking the dust measurements the dusty panel must also be cleaned for further measurement cycle, along with the reference solar panel. This may lead to involvement of manual inputs for triggering the cleaning operation. Further, this may also lead to triggering false alarms and consequently inefficient cleaning.
[0008] Further limitations and disadvantages of conventional and traditional approaches will become apparent to one of skill in the art, through comparison of described systems with some aspects of the present disclosure, as set forth in the remainder of the present application and with reference to the drawings.
SUMMARY
[0009] According to embodiments illustrated herein, there may be provided a method of smart cleaning of solar panels based on measuring and monitoring of solar panel contamination. The method includes a contaminant detection and cleaning device that includes a reference solar panel, one or more solar panels monitored for presence of contaminants, and an integrated autonomous robotic cleaner. The contaminant detection and cleaning device may be configured to perform operations that include continuously benchmarking a reference power generation capacity associated with the cleaned reference solar panel. The method further includes continuously detecting a power generated by the one or more solar panels. If the power generated by the one or more solar panels is less than the power generated by the reference solar panel, one or more measurements may be performed on the one or more solar panels, to determine presence of contaminants on the surface of the one or more solar panels. The performing of the smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels may be done by the autonomous robotic cleaner after detection of the contaminants.
[0010] In another embodiment, there is disclosed a system for contaminant detection and cleaning device that includes a multi-wheeled autonomous robot cleaner. The multi-wheeled autonomous robot cleaner includes a plurality of cleaning brushes, a bracket for removably mounting the contaminant detection and cleaning device on a solar array including a reference solar panel and one or more solar panels meant for performing contaminant detection. The azimuth and height of the contaminant detection and cleaning device in mounted state may be adjustable mechanically. The multi-wheeled autonomous robot cleaner includes a reference solar panel and one or more panels meant for dust measurement along with a processor and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor. The memory stores processor instructions, which, on execution, cause the processor to continuously benchmarking a reference power generation capacity associated with the cleaned reference solar panel. The instructions further cause the processor to continuously detect at least a power generated by the one or more solar panels. If the power generated by the one or more solar panels is less than the power generated by the reference solar panel, one or more measurements may be performed on the one the one or more solar panels, to determine presence of contaminants on the surface of the one or more solar panels. The performing of smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels may be done by the autonomous robotic cleaner after detection of the contaminants.
[0011] In yet another embodiment, a non-transitory computer-readable medium storing computer-executable instructions for smart cleaning of solar panels based on measuring and monitoring of solar panel contamination, is disclosed. The computer-executable instructions, are executed by one or more processors of a contaminant detection and cleaning device that includes a reference solar panel, one or more solar panels monitored for presence of contaminants, and an integrated autonomous robotic cleaner. The computer-executable instructions, are executed by one or more processors cause the contaminant detection and cleaning device to perform operations that include continuously benchmarking a reference power generation capacity associated with the cleaned reference solar panel. The operations further include continuously detecting a power generated by the one or more solar panels. If the power generated by the one or more solar panels is less than the power generated by the reference solar panel, one or more measurements may be performed on the one or more solar panels, to determine presence of contaminants on the surface of the one or more solar panels. The performing of the smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels may be done by the autonomous robotic cleaner after detection of the contaminants.
[0012] Various embodiments of the disclosure encompass numerous advantages including methods and systems for verification of authenticity of commodities and documents. Further, the disclosed methods and systems ensure that cross verification of users and products is performed and there is no black marketing and illicit trading is avoided. Further, fake products are also avoided from circulating in the market.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0013] The accompanying drawings illustrate the various embodiments of systems, methods, and other aspects of the disclosure. Any person with ordinary skills in the art will appreciate that the illustrated element boundaries (e.g., boxes, groups of boxes, or other shapes) in the figures represent one example of the boundaries. In some examples, one element may be designed as multiple elements, or multiple elements may be designed as one element. In some examples, an element shown as an internal component of one element may be implemented as an external component in another, and vice versa. Further, the elements may not be drawn to scale.
[0014] Various embodiments will hereinafter be described in accordance with the appended drawings, which are provided to illustrate and not to limit the scope in any manner, wherein similar designations denote similar elements, and in which:
[0015] FIG. 1 is an environment diagram that illustrates an environment 100 in which various embodiments of the method and the system may be implemented;
[0016] FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates a contaminant detection and cleaning device for smart cleaning of solar panels based on measuring and monitoring of solar panel contamination, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the disclosure;
[0017] FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary contaminant detection and cleaning device for smart cleaning of solar panels based on measuring and monitoring of solar panel contamination, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the disclosure;
[0018] FIGs. 4A and 4B depict an operation of the exemplary contaminant detection and cleaning device for smart cleaning of solar panels based on measuring and monitoring of solar panel contamination, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the disclosure;
[0019] FIG. 5 is a flowchart that illustrates a method for smart cleaning of solar panels based on measuring and monitoring of solar panel contamination, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the disclosure; and
[0020] FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computer system for implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0021] The present disclosure may be best understood with reference to the detailed figures and description set forth herein. Various embodiments are discussed below with reference to the figures. However, those skilled in the art will readily appreciate that the detailed descriptions given herein with respect to the figures are simply for explanatory purposes as the methods and systems may extend beyond the described embodiments. For example, the teachings presented and the needs of a particular application may yield multiple alternative and suitable approaches to implement the functionality of any detail described herein. Therefore, any approach may extend beyond the particular implementation choices in the following embodiments described and shown.
[0022] References to “one embodiment,” “at least one embodiment,” “an embodiment,” “one example,” “an example,” “for example,” and so on indicate that the embodiment(s) or example(s) may include a particular feature, structure, characteristic, property, element, or limitation but that not every embodiment or example necessarily includes that particular feature, structure, characteristic, property, element, or limitation. Further, repeated use of the phrase “in an embodiment” does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment.
[0023] Various implementations may be found in a method of smart cleaning of solar panels based on measuring and monitoring of solar panel contamination. The method includes a contaminant detection and cleaning device that includes a reference solar panel, one or more solar panels monitored for presence of contaminants, and an integrated autonomous robotic cleaner. In an embodiment, the one or more solar panels are identical to the reference solar panel.
[0024] The contaminant detection and cleaning device may be configured to perform operations that include continuously benchmarking a reference power generation capacity associated with the cleaned reference solar panel. The method further includes continuously detecting a power generated by the one or more solar panels. If the power generated by the one or more solar panels is less than the power generated by the reference solar panel, one or more measurements may be performed on the one or more solar panels, to determine presence of contaminants on the surface of the one or more solar panels. In an embodiment, the presence of contaminants is determined based on one or more of: a short circuit current associated with a solar panel, voltage level associated with a solar panel, back-panel temperature of a solar panel, one or more obstructions sensed on the surface of a solar panel, moisture content on the surface of a solar panel, and transmittance of light irradiated on the surface of a solar panel. The performing of the smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels may be done by the autonomous robotic cleaner after detection of the contaminants.
[0025] In an embodiment, the measurements include measuring one or more of a short circuit current and a temperature associated with the one or more solar panels. In an embodiment, one or more measurements are performed on the reference solar panel after the smart cleaning of the reference solar panel and before the one or more measurements are performed on the one or more solar panels.
[0026] In an embodiment, the smart cleaning of the reference solar panel may be performed at pre-defined time intervals to ensure maximum rated power generation by the reference solar panel at any instant of time. The smart cleaning of the reference solar panel may be performed before the one or more measurements are performed on the reference solar panel.
[0027] In an embodiment, the reference solar panel and the one or more solar panels are connected to a Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system using an Radio Frequency (RF)/Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) based Internet-of –Things (IoT) protocols and internetworking. The SCADA system may be located at a location which is remote with respect to the location of the reference solar panels and the one or more solar panels. In an embodiment, the integrated autonomous robotic cleaner may perform smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels based on one or more instructions received by the contaminant detection and cleaning device, from the SCADA system.
[0028] In an embodiment, the contaminant detection and cleaning device may be configured to autonomously perform smart cleaning of the solar panels in a solar farm, if the power generated by the one or more solar panels is less than the reference power generation capacity. The smart cleaning may be based on a correlation of the reduced power generated by the one or more solar panels with historically performed smart cleaning. The correlation may be based on an Artificial Intelligence (AI) modelling and data analytics of the generated power and requirement for smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels. In an embodiment, the reference solar panel power output being an ideally cleaned panel, is adopted as a reference to estimate the ideal power generation of an entire solar plant in the same location using AI techniques and data analytics.
[0029] In an embodiment, the contaminant detection and cleaning device may be powered based on the power generated by the reference solar panel and/or the one or more solar panels present in the contaminant detection and cleaning device.
[0030] In an embodiment, the contaminant detection and cleaning device corresponds to a multi-wheeled robot equipped with a plurality of cleaning brushes, removably mounted on a solar array including the reference solar panel and the one or more solar panels. The azimuth and height of the contaminant detection and cleaning device in mounted state may be mechanically adjustable.
[0031] In another embodiment, there is disclosed a system for contaminant detection and cleaning device that includes a multi-wheeled autonomous robot cleaner. The multi-wheeled autonomous robot cleaner includes a plurality of cleaning brushes, a bracket for removably mounting the contaminant detection and cleaning device on a solar array including a reference solar panel and one or more solar panels meant for performing contaminant detection. The azimuth and height of the contaminant detection and cleaning device in mounted state may be adjustable mechanically. The multi-wheeled autonomous robot cleaner includes a reference solar panel and one or more panels meant for dust measurement along with a processor and a memory communicatively coupled to the processor. The memory stores processor instructions, which, on execution, cause the processor to continuously benchmarking a reference power generation capacity associated with the cleaned reference solar panel. The instructions further cause the processor to continuously detect at least a power generated by the one or more solar panels. If the power generated by the one or more solar panels is less than the power generated by the reference solar panel, one or more measurements may be performed on the one the one or more solar panels, to determine presence of contaminants on the surface of the one or more solar panels. The performing of smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels may be done by the autonomous robotic cleaner after detection of the contaminants.
[0032] FIG. 1 is an environment diagram that illustrates an environment 100 in which various embodiments of the method and the system may be implemented.
[0033] The system environment 100 may include a plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning devices 1021 to 102N, collectively referred as contaminant detection and cleaning devices 102. The environment 100 further includes a central Supervisory control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system 104. The plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 may be communicatively coupled with the central SCADA system 104, via the communication network 106.
[0034] In an implementation, the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 may include a contaminant detection and cleaning device (such as 1021) that includes a reference solar panel, one or more solar panels monitored for presence of contaminants, and an integrated autonomous robotic cleaner (explained in detail in FIG. 2). In an implementation, the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 may be placed at strategic locations within a solar farm including a plurality of solar panels. The positioning of the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 may be such so as to aid in capturing of the accurate distribution of contaminants across the solar panels in the solar farm. In an implementation, each contaminant detection and cleaning device from the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 corresponds to a multi-wheeled robot equipped with a plurality of cleaning brushes, removably mounted on a solar array including the reference solar panel and the one or more solar panels. The azimuth and height of the contaminant detection and cleaning device in mounted state may be mechanically adjustable.
[0035] The central SCADA system 104 may include suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to communicate with the Remote Terminal Units (RTUs) that include Programmable Logic Controllers (PLC) and/or Proportional Integral Derivative (PID) controllers present in the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102. The central SCADA system 104 may be configured to gather and analyze data received from the RTUs and accordingly control one or more operations of the contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 and/or the robots that may be installed at a solar farm. In an implementation, the central SCADA system 104 may be located remotely with respect to the location of the contaminant detection and cleaning device 104 and the solar farm. In another implementation, the central SCADA system 104 may be located remotely only with respect to the location of the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 104 and may be located within the solar farm. Further, each of the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 may be powered based on the power generated by the reference solar panel and/or the one or more solar panels present in the contaminant detection and cleaning device.
[0036] In an embodiment, the communication network 106 may correspond to a communication medium through which the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 and the central SCADA system 104 may communicate with each other. Such a communication may be performed, in accordance with various wired and wireless communication protocols. Examples of such wired and wireless communication protocols include, but are not limited to, Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol (TCP/IP), User Datagram Protocol (UDP), Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP), File Transfer Protocol (FTP), ZigBee, EDGE, infrared (IR), IEEE 802.11, 802.16, Radio Frequency (RF) based 2G/3G/4G/5G/6G cellular communication protocols, Internet-of-things (IoT) protocol based internetworking, and/or Bluetooth (BT) communication protocols. The communication network 106 may include, but is not limited to, the Internet, a cloud network, a Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) network, a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), a Local Area Network (LAN), a telephone line (POTS), and/or a Metropolitan Area Network (MAN).
[0037] In operation, the each contaminant detection and cleaning device (such as contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021) from the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 includes a reference solar panel, one or more solar panels monitored for presence of contaminants, and an integrated autonomous robotic cleaner. In an embodiment, the one or more solar panels are identical to the reference solar panel.
[0038] In an embodiment, each of the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 may be configured to perform the smart cleaning of the reference solar panel at pre-defined time intervals to ensure maximum rated power generation by the reference solar panel at any instant of time. The smart cleaning of the reference solar panel may be performed before the one or more measurements are performed on the reference solar panel.
[0039] In an embodiment, once the reference solar panels are cleaned, each of the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 may be configured to perform operations that include continuously benchmarking a reference power generation capacity associated with the cleaned reference solar panel. Further, continuous detection of a power generated by the one or more solar panels may be performed for each of the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102. If the power generated by the one or more solar panels is less than the power generated by the reference solar panel, one or more measurements may be performed on the one or more solar panels for determining presence of contaminants on the surface of the one or more solar panels.
[0040] In an embodiment, the presence of contaminants may be determined based on measurement of parameters that include, but are not limited to, a short circuit current associated with a solar panel, voltage level associated with a solar panel, back-panel temperature of a solar panel, one or more obstructions sensed on the surface of a solar panel, moisture content on the surface of a solar panel, and transmittance of light irradiated on the surface of a solar panel. In an embodiment, the measured parameters may be transmitted to the central SCADA system 104 form the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102.
[0041] The central SCADA system 104 based on the receipt of the measure parameters may perform analyses to ascertain the presence of contaminants on the surface of one or more contaminant detection and cleaning device 102. In an embodiment, one or more measurements may be performed on the reference solar panel after the smart cleaning of the reference solar panel and before the one or more measurements are performed on the one or more solar panels. Further, the smart cleaning of the reference solar panel may be performed at pre-defined time intervals for ensuring maximum rated power generation by the reference solar panel at any instant of time. Such pre-defined intervals include timeslots that immediately precede the instances at which the one or more measurements are performed on the reference solar panel.
[0042] In an embodiment, based on the received one or more measurements, the central SCADA system 104 may be configured to generate one or more instructions for performing smart cleaning of the solar panels in the solar farm. The one or more instructions may be generated when the power generated by the one or more solar panels is less than the reference power generation capacity. Further, the generation of one or more instructions for smart cleaning may be based on a correlation of the reduced power generated by the one or more solar panels with historically performed smart cleaning. The correlation may be based on an Artificial Intelligence (AI) modelling and data analytics of the generated power and requirement for smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels. In an embodiment, the reference solar panel power output being an ideally cleaned panel, is adopted as a reference to estimate the ideal power generation of an entire solar plant in the same location using AI techniques and data analytics.
[0043] A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the aforesaid computations for generating one or more instructions for performing the smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels may be independently performed by a contaminant detection and cleaning device (such as the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021).
[0044] In an embodiment, the integrated autonomous robotic cleaner of the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 may perform smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels based on one or more instructions received by the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021, from the central SCADA system 104. In another embodiment, when the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 is equipped to generate one or more instructions for performing smart cleaning. The smart cleaning may be performed by the autonomous robotic cleaner after detection of the contaminants, without having to wait for instructions to be received from the central SCADA system 104. This may be particularly beneficial when any power fluctuation in the power generated by the solar farm can adversely affect operations of a power sensitive facility, that includes, but is not limited to, a manufacturing facility, hospital, air traffic control (ATC), and the like.
[0045] FIG. 2 is a block diagram that illustrates a contaminant detection and cleaning device for smart cleaning of solar panels based on measuring and monitoring of solar panel contamination, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the disclosure. FIG. 2 is explained in conjunction with elements from FIG. 1.
[0046] In an embodiment, the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 includes a processor 202, a memory 204, sensors 206, a contaminant detection unit 208, a smart cleaning actuator 210, and a transceiver 218. The processor 202 may be communicatively coupled to the a memory 204, sensors 206, a contaminant detection unit 208, a smart cleaning actuator 210, and the transceiver 218. The transceiver 218 may be communicatively coupled to the communication network 106.
[0047] The processor 202 includes suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to execute a set of instructions stored in the memory 204. The processor 202 may be implemented based on several processor technologies known in the art. The processor 202 works in coordination with memory 204, sensors 206, a contaminant detection unit 208, a smart cleaning actuator 210, and the transceiver 218 for smart cleaning of solar panels based on measuring and monitoring of solar panel contamination. Examples of the processor 202 include, but not limited to, an X86-based processor, a Reduced Instruction Set Computing (RISC) processor, an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) processor, a Complex Instruction Set Computing (CISC) processor, and/or other processor. A person of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that instead of the processor 202, one or more RTU having PLC and/or PIDs may be used, without departing from the scope of the disclosure.
[0048] The memory 204 includes suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to store the set of instructions, which are executed by the processor 202. In an embodiment, the memory 204 may be configured to store one or more programs, routines, or scripts that are executed in coordination with the processor 202. The memory 204 may be implemented based on a Random Access Memory (RAM), a Read-Only Memory (ROM), a Hard Disk Drive (HDD), a storage server, and/or a Secure Digital (SD) card.
[0049] The sensors 206 includes suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to perform one or more measurements. The sensors 206 may include, but are not limited to, short circuit current sensors 212, voltage sensors 214, and temperature sensors 216. The short circuit current sensors 212 may be configured to measure the short circuit current sensors associated with a solar panel, the voltage sensors 214 may be configured to measure voltage associated with a solar panel, and the temperature sensors 216 may be configured to measure the temperature of the solar panels.
[0050] The contaminant detection unit 208 includes suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to utilize the one or more measurements performed by the sensors 206 for detecting presence of contaminants on the one or more solar panels of the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102. The smart cleaning actuator 210 includes suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to generate one or more instructions for performing smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels of the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102.
[0051] The transceiver 218 includes of suitable logic, circuitry, interfaces, and/or code that may be configured to receive one or more instructions from the central SCADA system 104, via the communication network 106. The transceiver 218 may be further configured to transmit one or more measurements to the central SCADA system 104. The transceiver 218 may implement one or more known technologies to support wired or wireless communication with the communication network 106. In an embodiment, the transceiver 218 may include, but is not limited to, an antenna, a radio frequency (RF) transceiver, one or more amplifiers, a tuner, one or more oscillators, a digital signal processor, a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device, a coder-decoder (CODEC) chipset, a subscriber identity module (SIM) card, and/or a local buffer. The transceiver 206 may communicate via wireless communication with networks, such as the Internet, an Intranet and/or a wireless network, such as a cellular telephone network, a wireless local area network (LAN) and/or a metropolitan area network (MAN). The wireless communication may use any of a plurality of communication standards, protocols and technologies, such as: Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM), Enhanced Data GSM Environment (EDGE), wideband code division multiple access (W-CDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), Internet-of-things (IoT) protocol based internetworking, Bluetooth, Wireless Fidelity (Wi-Fi) (e.g., IEEE 802.11a, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g and/or IEEE 802.11n), voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), Wi-MAX, a protocol for email, instant messaging, and/or Short Message Service (SMS).
[0052] In operation, a contaminant detection and cleaning device (such as contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021) from the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 includes a reference solar panel, one or more solar panels monitored for presence of contaminants, and an integrated autonomous robotic cleaner. In an embodiment, the one or more solar panels are identical to the reference solar panel.
[0053] In an embodiment, the processor 202 of each of the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 may be configured to perform operations that include continuously benchmarking a reference power generation capacity associated with the cleaned reference solar panel. The benchmarking may be performed by the processor 202 of in conjunction with the sensors 206. Further, the processor 202, in conjunction with the sensors 206, may be configured to perform continuous detection of a power generated by the one or more solar panels may be performed within each of the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102. If the power generated by the one or more solar panels is less than the power generated by the reference solar panel, the processor 202 may be configured to perform one or more measurements on the one or more solar panels for determining presence of contaminants on the surface of the one or more solar panels.
[0054] In an embodiment, the processor 202, in conjunction with the sensors 206, may be configured to determine presence of contaminants based on measurement of parameters that include, but are not limited to, a short circuit current associated with a solar panel using the short circuit current sensor 212, voltage level associated with a solar panel using the voltage sensor 214, back-panel temperature of a solar panel using temperature sensor 216. The parameters may further include, but are not limited to, one or more obstructions sensed on the surface of a solar panel, moisture content on the surface of a solar panel, and transmittance of light irradiated on the surface of a solar panel. In an embodiment, the processor 202 may be configured to transmit the measured parameters to the central SCADA system 104 using the transceiver 218.
[0055] The central SCADA system 104 based on the receipt of the measure parameters may perform analyses to ascertain the presence of contaminants on the surface of one or more contaminant detection and cleaning device 102. In an embodiment, one or more measurements may be performed on the reference solar panel after the smart cleaning of the reference solar panel and before the one or more measurements are performed on the one or more solar panels. Further, the smart cleaning of the reference solar panel may be performed at pre-defined time intervals for ensuring maximum rated power generation by the reference solar panel at any instant of time. Such pre-defined intervals include timeslots that immediately precede the instances at which the one or more measurements are performed on the reference solar panel.
[0056] In an embodiment, based on the received one or more measurements, the central SCADA system 104 may be configured to generate one or more instructions for performing smart cleaning of the solar panels in the solar farm. The one or more instructions may be generated when the power generated by the one or more solar panels is less than the reference power generation capacity. Further, the generation of one or more instructions for smart cleaning may be based on a correlation of the reduced power generated by the one or more solar panels with historically performed smart cleaning. The correlation may be based on an Artificial Intelligence (AI) modelling and data analytics of the generated power and requirement for smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels. In an embodiment, the reference solar panel power output being an ideally cleaned panel, is adopted as a reference to estimate the ideal power generation of an entire solar plant in the same location using AI techniques and data analytics. The one or more instructions generated by the central SCADA system 104 may be received by one or more contaminant detection and cleaning device from the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102, via the transceiver 218.
[0057] In another embodiment, the computations performed by the central SCADA system 104 may be performed by the processor 202, in conjunction with the sensors 206, the contaminant detection unit 208, and the smart cleaning actuator 210.
[0058] In an embodiment, the processor 202, in conjunction with the smart cleaning actuator 216, may be configured to actuate the integrated autonomous robotic cleaner of the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 to perform smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels based on one or more instructions received by the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021, from the central SCADA system 104. In another embodiment, when the processor 202 of the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 is equipped to autonomously generate one or more instructions for performing smart cleaning, the processor 202, in conjunction with the smart cleaning actuator 216, may be configured to actuate the smart cleaning operation of the autonomous robotic cleaner after detection of the contaminants, without having to wait for instructions to be received from the central SCADA system 104. This may be particularly beneficial when any power fluctuation in the power generated by the solar farm can adversely affect operations of a power sensitive facility, that includes, but is not limited to, a manufacturing facility, hospital, air traffic control (ATC), and the like.
[0059] A person skilled in the art will understand that the scope of the disclosure should not be limited to for smart cleaning of solar panels based on measuring and monitoring of solar panel contamination. Further, the examples provided in supra are for illustrative purposes and should not be construed to limit the scope of the disclosure.
[0060] FIG. 3 depicts an exemplary contaminant detection and cleaning device for smart cleaning of solar panels based on measuring and monitoring of solar panel contamination, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Elements of FIG. 3 have been explained in conjunction with the elements of FIGs. 1 and 2.
[0061] With reference to FIG. 3, there is shown an exemplary contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021, from the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102. In an implementation, the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 (such as the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021) may be placed at strategic locations within a solar farm including a plurality of solar panels. The positioning of the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 may be such so as to aid in capturing of the accurate distribution of contaminants across the solar panels in the solar farm.
[0062] In an exemplary implementation, the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 includes a reference solar panel 302 and a solar panel 304. A multi-wheeled autonomous robotic cleaner 306 may be disposed between the reference solar panel 302 and the solar panel 304.
[0063] In an exemplary implementation, the robotic cleaner 306 may include a plurality of cleaning brushes for performing the smart cleaning operation on the reference solar panel 302 and the solar panel 304, when triggered by the processor 202. The contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 may further include a bracket for removably mounting the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 on a adjustable frame 308. In an implementation, when in a mounted state, an azimuth and the height of the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 may be adjusted either manually or based on instructions generated by the processor 202 and/or the central SCADA system 104. This adjustment may be performed adjusted so that the slope of the solar panels in the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 matches that of the main panels that are in the solar farm.
[0064] The contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 based on the one or more instructions of the processor 202 may continuously benchmark a reference power generation capacity associated with the cleaned reference solar panel 302. The instructions further cause the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 to continuously detect at least a power generated by the solar panel 304. If the power generated by the solar panel 304 is less than the power generated by the reference solar panel 302, one or more measurements may be performed on the solar panel 304, to determine presence of contaminants on the surface of the solar panel 304. The performing of smart cleaning of the solar panels 304 may be done by the autonomous robotic cleaner 306 after detection of the contaminants. This has been explained in FIGs. 4A and 4B.
[0065] FIGs. 4A and 4B depict an operation of the exemplary contaminant detection and cleaning device for smart cleaning of solar panels based on measuring and monitoring of solar panel contamination, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the disclosure. Elements of FIG. 4 have been explained in conjunction with the elements of FIGs. 1 to 3.
[0066] With reference to FIGs. 4A and 4B, there is shown the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021. FIG. 4A depict an operation of the robotic cleaner 306 of the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021, where the robotic cleaner 306 performs periodic cleaning of the reference solar panel 302. As explained above, the reference solar panel 302 may be cleaned at a pre-defined frequency. In an embodiment, the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 may be configured to perform the smart cleaning of the reference solar panel 302 at pre-defined time intervals to ensure maximum rated power generation by the reference solar panel at any instant of time. The smart cleaning of the reference solar panel 302 may be performed before the one or more measurements are performed on the reference solar panel 302.
[0067] As is depicted in FIG. 4A, the cleaning operation of the reference solar panel 302 is performed by movement of the robotic cleaner 306 in a direction that is away from the solar panel 304. This ensures that while cleaning, the displaced contaminants and/or dust do not accidentally spill over to the solar panel 304.
[0068] In an embodiment, the benchmarking operation may include measurement of one or more parameters associated with the reference solar panel 302. The parameters may include, but are not limited to, a short circuit current associated with a solar panel, voltage level associated with a solar panel, back-panel temperature of a solar panel, one or more obstructions sensed on the surface of a solar panel, moisture content on the surface of a solar panel, and transmittance of light irradiated on the surface of a solar panel. In an embodiment, the measured parameters may be transmitted to the central SCADA system 104 form the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021.
[0069] With reference to FIG. 4B, there is shown an operation of the robotic cleaner 306 where it performs smart cleaning of the solar panel 304. Once the benchmarked one or more measurements are transmitted to the central SCADA system 104, the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 may continuous detection of a power generated by the one or more solar panels may be performed for each of the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102. If the power generated by the one or more solar panels is less than the power generated by the reference solar panel, one or more measurements may be performed on the one or more solar panels for determining presence of contaminants on the surface of the one or more solar panels.
[0070] Upon receipt of the one or more measurements, the central SCADA system 104 may determine the presence of contaminants on the surface of the solar panel 304 based on measurement of parameters associated with the solar panel 304, performed by the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 and received therefrom. The parameters may include, but are not limited to, a short circuit current associated with a solar panel, voltage level associated with a solar panel, and/or back-panel temperature of a solar panel. Based on the analyses of the received one or more measurements of the solar panel 304 and the reference solar panel 302, the central SCADA system 104 may ascertain the presence of contaminants on the surface of the solar panel 304.
[0071] In an embodiment, the central SCADA 104 may include one or more modules for generating visualizations and interfaces of the one or more measurements received from the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021. The one or more instructions for smart cleaning of the solar panel 304 may be generated based on a manual analyses of the measurements presented on one or more interfaces presented to administrators.
[0072] In an embodiment, upon detection of the contaminants (such as dust), the central SCADA system 104 may be configured to generate (autonomously or based on manual inputs) one or more instructions for performing smart cleaning of the solar panels in the solar farm. The one or more instructions may be generated when based on the received one or more measurements, the central SCADA system 104 determines that the power generated by the one or more solar panels is less than the reference power generation capacity. Further, the generation of one or more instructions for smart cleaning may be based on a correlation of the reduced power generated by the one or more solar panels with historically performed smart cleaning. The correlation may be based on an Artificial Intelligence (AI) modelling and data analytics of the generated power and requirement for smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels. In an embodiment, the reference solar panel power output being an ideally cleaned panel, is adopted as a reference to estimate the ideal power generation of an entire solar plant in the same location using AI techniques and data analytics.
[0073] The central SCADA system 104 may transmit the one or more instructions to the contaminant detection and cleaning device 1021 basis which the robotic cleaner 306 may perform smart cleaning of the solar panel 304. The smart cleaning may be performed in a manner that movement robotic cleaner leads to cleaning of the contaminants from the surface of the solar panel 304 in a direction that is away from the reference solar panel 302. This ensures that while cleaning, the displaced contaminants and/or dust do not accidentally spill over to the reference solar panel 302.
[0074] FIG. 5 is a flowchart that illustrates a method 500 for smart cleaning of solar panels based on measuring and monitoring of solar panel contamination, in accordance with at least one embodiment of the disclosure. The flowchart 500 is described in conjunction with FIG. 1 to 4B. The method starts at step 502.
[0075] At step 504, a cleaning of a reference solar panel may be performed. At step 506, a reference power generation capacity associated with the cleaned reference solar panel may be continuously benchmarked based on one or more measurements. In an embodiment, one or more measurements may be performed for the parameters that may include, but are not limited to, a short circuit current associated with a solar panel, voltage level associated with a solar panel, back-panel temperature of a solar panel, one or more obstructions sensed on the surface of a solar panel, moisture content on the surface of a solar panel, and transmittance of light irradiated on the surface of a solar panel.
[0076] At step 508, reference power generation capacity may be transmitted to the central SCADA system 104. At step 510, a power generated by the one or more solar panels may be continuously detected. The detection of the power generated by the one or more solar panels may be based on one or more measurements of the parameters associated with the one or more solar panels. The parameters may include, but are not limited to, a short circuit current associated with a solar panel, voltage level associated with a solar panel, back-panel temperature of a solar panel, one or more obstructions sensed on the surface of a solar panel, moisture content on the surface of a solar panel, and transmittance of light irradiated on the surface of a solar panel.
[0077] At step 512, it is determined whether the power generated by the one or more solar panels is less than the power generated by the reference solar panel. If the power generated by the one or more solar panels is less than the power generated by the reference solar panel, the control passes to step 514. If the power generated by the one or more solar panels is less than the power generated by the reference solar panel, the control passes to step 510.
[0078] At step 514, central SCADA system 104 may generate one or more instruction for performing smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels and other solar panels in the solar farm. The instructions may be transmitted to the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device 102 and one or more robotic devices configured for cleaning of solar panels in the solar farm. At step 516, the robotic cleaner 306 may perform smart cleaning of the one or more solar panels (such as solar panel 304) based on the one or more instructions received from the central SCADA system. Control passes to end step 518.
Computer System
[0079] FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an exemplary computer system for implementing embodiments consistent with the present disclosure. Variations of computer system 801 may be used for performing optical character recognition on an image including a plurality of printed characters. The computer system 801 may include a central processing unit (“CPU” or “processor”) 602. Processor 602 may include at least one data processor for executing program components for executing user- or system-generated requests. A user may include a person, a person using a device such as such as those included in this disclosure, or such a device itself. The processor may include specialized processing units such as integrated system (bus) controllers, memory management control units, floating point units, graphics processing units, digital signal processing units, etc. The processor may include a microprocessor, such as AMD Athlon, Duron or Opteron, ARM’s application, embedded or secure processors, IBM PowerPC, Intel’s Core, Itanium, Xeon, Celeron or other line of processors, etc. The processor 402 may be implemented using mainframe, distributed processor, multi-core, parallel, grid, or other architectures. Some embodiments may utilize embedded technologies like application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs), etc.
[0069] Processor 602 may be disposed in communication with one or more input/output (I/O) devices via I/O interface 603. The I/O interface 403 may employ communication protocols/methods such as, without limitation, audio, analog, digital, monoaural, RCA, stereo, IEEE-1394, serial bus, universal serial bus (USB), infrared, PS/2, BNC, coaxial, component, composite, digital visual interface (DVI), high-definition multimedia interface (HDMI), RF antennas, S-Video, VGA, IEEE 602.n /b/g/n/x, Bluetooth, cellular (e.g., code-division multiple access (CDMA), high-speed packet access (HSPA+), global system for mobile communications (GSM), long-term evolution (LTE), WiMax, or the like), etc.
[0070] Using the I/O interface 603, the computer system 601 may communicate with one or more I/O devices. For example, the input device 604 may be an antenna, keyboard, mouse, joystick, (infrared) remote control, camera, card reader, fax machine, dongle, biometric reader, microphone, touch screen, touchpad, trackball, sensor (e.g., accelerometer, light sensor, GPS, gyroscope, proximity sensor, or the like), stylus, scanner, storage device, transceiver, video device/source, visors, etc. Output device 605 may be a printer, fax machine, video display (e.g., cathode ray tube (CRT), liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diode (LED), plasma, or the like), audio speaker, etc. In some embodiments, a transceiver 606 may be disposed in connection with the processor 602. The transceiver may facilitate various types of wireless transmission or reception. For example, the transceiver may include an antenna operatively connected to a transceiver chip (e.g., Texas Instruments WiLink WL1283, Broadcom BCM4750IUB8, Infineon Technologies X-Gold 618-PMB9800, or the like), providing IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n, Bluetooth, FM, global positioning system (GPS), 2G/3G HSDPA/HSUPA communications, etc.
[0071] In some embodiments, the processor 602 may be disposed in communication with a communication network 608 via a network interface 607. The network interface 607 may communicate with the communication network 608. The network interface may employ connection protocols including, without limitation, direct connect, Ethernet (e.g., twisted pair 10/100/1000 Base T), transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP), token ring, IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n/x, etc. The communication network 608 may include, without limitation, a direct interconnection, local area network (LAN), wide area network (WAN), wireless network (e.g., using Wireless Application Protocol), the Internet, etc. Using the network interface 607 and the communication network 608, the computer system 601 may communicate with devices 609, 610, and 611. These devices may include, without limitation, personal computer(s), server(s), fax machines, printers, scanners, various mobile devices such as cellular telephones, smartphones (e.g., Apple iPhone, Blackberry, Android-based phones, etc.), tablet computers, eBook readers (Amazon Kindle, Nook, etc.), laptop computers, notebooks, gaming consoles (Microsoft Xbox, Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation, etc.), or the like. In some embodiments, the computer system 501 may itself embody one or more of these devices.
[0072] In some embodiments, the processor 602 may be disposed in communication with one or more memory devices (e.g., RAM 613, ROM 614, etc.) via a storage interface 612. The storage interface may connect to memory devices including, without limitation, memory drives, removable disc drives, etc., employing connection protocols such as serial advanced technology attachment (SATA), integrated drive electronics (IDE), IEEE-1394, universal serial bus (USB), fiber channel, small computer systems interface (SCSI), etc. The memory drives may further include a drum, magnetic disc drive, magneto-optical drive, optical drive, redundant array of independent discs (RAID), solid-state memory devices, solid-state drives, etc.
[0073] The memory 615 devices may store a collection of program or database components, including, without limitation, an operating system 616, user interface application 617, web browser 618, mail server 619, mail client 620, user/application data 621 (e.g., any data variables or data records discussed in this disclosure), etc. The operating system 616 may facilitate resource management and operation of the computer system 601. Examples of operating systems include, without limitation, Apple Macintosh OS X, UNIX, Unix-like system distributions (e.g., Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD), FreeBSD, NetBSD, OpenBSD, etc.), Linux distributions (e.g., Red Hat, Ubuntu, Kubuntu, etc.), IBM OS/2, Microsoft Windows (XP, Vista/7/8, etc.), Apple iOS, Google Android, Blackberry OS, or the like. User interface 617 may facilitate display, execution, interaction, manipulation, or operation of program components through textual or graphical facilities. For example, user interfaces may provide computer interaction interface elements on a display system operatively connected to the computer system 601, such as cursors, icons, check boxes, menus, scrollers, windows, widgets, etc. Graphical user interfaces (GUIs) may be employed, including, without limitation, Apple Macintosh operating systems’ Aqua, IBM OS/2, Microsoft Windows (e.g., Aero, Metro, etc.), Unix X-Windows, web interface libraries (e.g., ActiveX, Java, Javascript, AJAX, HTML, Adobe Flash, etc.), or the like.
[0074] In some embodiments, the computer system 601 may implement a web browser 618 stored program component. The web browser may be a hypertext viewing application, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari, etc. Secure web browsing may be provided using HTTPS (secure hypertext transport protocol), secure sockets layer (SSL), Transport Layer Security (TLS), etc. Web browsers may utilize facilities such as AJAX, DHTML, Adobe Flash, JavaScript, Java, application programming interfaces (APIs), etc. In some embodiments, the computer system 601 may implement a mail server 419 stored program component. The mail server may be an Internet mail server such as Microsoft Exchange, or the like. The mail server may utilize facilities such as ASP, ActiveX, ANSI C++/C#, Microsoft .NET, CGI scripts, Java, JavaScript, PERL, PHP, Python, WebObjects, etc. The mail server may utilize communication protocols such as internet message access protocol (IMAP), messaging application programming interface (MAPI), Microsoft Exchange, post office protocol (POP), simple mail transfer protocol (SMTP), or the like. In some embodiments, the computer system 601 may implement a mail client 620 stored program component. The mail client may be a mail viewing application, such as Apple Mail, Microsoft Entourage, Microsoft Outlook, Mozilla Thunderbird, etc.
[0075] In some embodiments, computer system 601 may store user/application data 621, such as the data, variables, records, etc. as described in this disclosure. Such databases may be implemented as fault-tolerant, relational, scalable, secure databases such as Oracle or Sybase. Alternatively, such databases may be implemented using standardized data structures, such as an array, hash, linked list, struct, structured text file (e.g., XML), table, or as object-oriented databases (e.g., using ObjectStore, Poet, Zope, etc.). Such databases may be consolidated or distributed, sometimes among the various computer systems discussed above in this disclosure. It is to be understood that the structure and operation of the any computer or database component may be combined, consolidated, or distributed in any working combination.
[0076] Furthermore, one or more computer-readable storage media may be utilized in implementing embodiments consistent with the present invention. A computer-readable storage medium refers to any type of physical memory on which information or data readable by a processor may be stored. Thus, a computer-readable storage medium may store instructions for execution by one or more processors, including instructions for causing the processor(s) to perform steps or stages consistent with the embodiments described herein. The term “computer-readable medium” should be understood to include tangible items and exclude carrier waves and transient signals, i.e., non-transitory. Examples include Random Access Memory (RAM), Read-Only Memory (ROM), volatile memory, nonvolatile memory, hard drives, Compact Disc (CD) ROMs, Digital Video Disc (DVDs), flash drives, disks, and any other known physical storage media.
[0080] Various embodiments of the disclosure encompass numerous advantages including methods and systems smart cleaning of solar panels based on measuring and monitoring of solar panel contamination. Further, the disclosed methods and systems ensure that the cleaning operation of solar panels at a solar farm is autonomous. Further, the disclosed methods and systems provide capability to administrators analyze the data received from the solar panels using the interfaces present at the central SCADA system and then take an informed call about performing remote Operation & Maintenance (O&M). Further, the disclosed methods and systems enhance the efficiency of performing cleaning by obviating the need for continuous and inefficient cleaning by predicating the cleaning on comparison of power generation metrics between reference solar panel and the solar panel of the plurality of contaminant detection and cleaning device.
[0081] The present disclosure may be realized in hardware, or a combination of hardware and software. The present disclosure may be realized in a centralized fashion, in at least one computer system, or in a distributed fashion, where different elements may be spread across several interconnected computer systems. A computer system or other apparatus adapted for carrying out the methods described herein may be suited. A combination of hardware and software may be a general-purpose computer system with a computer program that, when loaded and executed, may control the computer system such that it carries out the methods described herein. The present disclosure may be realized in hardware that includes a portion of an integrated circuit that also performs other functions.
[0082] A person with ordinary skills in the art will appreciate that the systems, modules, and sub-modules have been illustrated and explained to serve as examples and should not be considered limiting in any manner. It will be further appreciated that the variants of the above disclosed system elements, modules, and other features and functions, or alternatives thereof, may be combined to create other different systems or applications.
[0083] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that any of the aforementioned steps and/or system modules may be suitably replaced, reordered, or removed, and additional steps and/or system modules may be inserted, depending on the needs of a particular application. In addition, the systems of the aforementioned embodiments may be implemented using a wide variety of suitable processes and system modules, and are not limited to any particular computer hardware, software, middleware, firmware, microcode, and the like. The claims can encompass embodiments for hardware and software, or a combination thereof.
[0084] While the present disclosure has been described with reference to certain embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted without departing from the scope of the present disclosure. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the present disclosure without departing from its scope. Therefore, it is intended that the present disclosure not be limited to the particular embodiment disclosed, but that the present disclosure will include all embodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.