Self-Driving Car Finds the Best Sun

Jan-02-14 Ford has unveiled a concept that uses self-driving car tech to keep the car in the best area of sun, potentially making solar-powered EV’s more practical and attractive to consumers.

The concept builds upon the idea of using a tall carport with a roof made of a Fresnel lens to concentrate sunlight on the car. Typically, the lens is mounted on an expensive tracking system that moves to follow the sun throughout the day in order to keep the sun focused on the car’s solar panels.

To cut the cost of the system, Ford has proposed moving the car instead of the lens. In their plan, software in the self-driving car would track the path of the sun and monitor how much sunlight is reaching the solar panels, and then determine where the car should move to receive the most sun.

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[TECHNOLOGYREVIEW.COM]

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