Utah Patent of the Month – January 2022
Loveland Innovations, LLC is the maker of IMGING, the leading platform for property inspections and analytics. Their technology ventures into solar industries as well, capable of evaluating a roof using drones. Recently, they’ve advanced this technology to conduct solar ray mapping using divergent beam modeling. A divergent beam refers to light rays from a point source of light. These rays travel in all directions, diverging with time.
The drone carries out optical imaging and sensing, capturing sequences of images of the roof. The imaging system then generates interactive models of the roof and surrounding objects. The process models the divergent beam ray paths between the roof and varying sun angles. The model extends to sun positions during different times of day, week, month, year or any set time period. Both obstructed and unobstructed divergent beam ray paths are identified. For reference, obstructions like tree branches might block the path of a sunray to the roof at certain sun angles. The degree of obstruction is completely dependent on the sun’s position as the source of light changes angle.
This is important as obstructions will impede the potential for solar panel efficiencies. The unobstructed divergent beam ray paths are used within the calculation of a solar irradiance value for each point on the roof. This can be visualized in a heat map. Their system can produce an accurate 3D model in just 10 minutes. By reducing the amount of time and effort needed to survey a roof, you can spend less time focusing on how best to position solar panels, and more time on connecting with customers.
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