Systems, methods, and apparatus are disclosed for determining bore sight error. An apparatus may include an optical lens and a collimated light source configured to emit a beam of collimated light having a first wavelength, where the beam of collimated light passes through the optical lens and parallel to an optical axis of the optical lens. The apparatus may further include a position sensitive detector configured to receive the beam emitted by the collimated light source, and identify a first position of the beam relative to the position sensitive detector. The apparatus may also include a processing device configured to generate a bore sight error metric based, at least in part, on the first position identified by the position sensitive detector. The bore sight error metric characterizes a difference between an actual position of a target object and a perceived position viewed by the optical lens.

Sensors are installed on a solar photovoltaic (PV) tracker project to monitor the movement of solar PV trackers, primarily under wind loading but also during normal tracking operation. The monitoring establishes a baseline performance of the system. Once this baseline is established, the system is monitored for any deviation from the baseline to provide early warning of developing issues before significant failures are experience under environmental loading. The system can also provide real-time measurement of wind speeds throughout the project, based on the baseline performance characterization.

Sensors are installed on a solar photovoltaic (PV) tracker project to monitor the movement of solar PV trackers, primarily under wind loading but also during normal tracking operation. The monitoring establishes a baseline performance of the system. Once this baseline is established, the system is monitored for any deviation from the baseline to provide early warning of developing issues before significant failures are experience under environmental loading. The system can also provide real-time measurement of wind speeds throughout the project, based on the baseline performance characterization.

The invention relates to the fields of optical technologies and telecommunication technologies, and is dedicated to determination of the direction of optical beam in free-space optical communication systems. The invention is based on the property of interference optical filters (IOF), that transmittance and reflectance of such filters, for a beam with given optical spectrum, depends on the angle of the beam with respect to IOF surface normal. According to the proposed method, at least one IOF is used, which is rotated by defined angle with respect to the optical axis of the detection device. In the implementation of the detection device with one IOF, two optical power detectors are used, which measure optical power of the beam reflected from the IOF and transmitted through the IOF.

Sensors are installed on a solar photovoltaic (PV) tracker project to monitor the movement of solar PV trackers, primarily under wind loading but also during normal tracking operation. The monitoring establishes a baseline performance of the system. Once this baseline is established, the system is monitored for any deviation from the baseline to provide early warning of developing issues before significant failures are experience under environmental loading. The system can also provide real-time measurement of wind speeds throughout the project, based on the baseline performance characterization.

A system and method for calibrating reflective devices using reflected beam alignment with distant reference objects. The system comprises a reflective device with drives that orient a reflective surface, where drive states indicate the surface position. An incident beam from a beam emitter is directed at the reflective surface, creating a reflected beam observed against distant reference objects having known positions, such as stars. Calibration points are recorded comprising drive states corresponding to when the reflected beam aligns with reference objects. These calibration points are processed to optimize a computer model relating drive states to reflective surface orientation. The system may include cameras for capturing reflected beam images and a computing device for processing calibration data and modifying model parameters. The calibrated model enables precise control of reflective surface orientation, with particular application to heliostat calibration for solar power concentration, enabling accurate sun tracking during daylight operation after nighttime calibration.