Document containing information about the experiments realised by students from Liceo Basile (Palermo).

1. Pyramidal solar tracker
We, the Italian group of this Erasmus Project, joined a group in our school
to build this device that would help in making the good use of solar energy,
moved both by the coming of this project, and by our love of science, and
of ecology.
We are Edoardo, Marco, Alessio, Piero, Santi, Moreno and Francesco, and
with other guys from the Richard Feynman group (of our school, lyceum
scientific Ernesto Basile), after a lot of hard work, ended up finally with a
working device.
Here you can see the device working, aiming towards a lamp (but
obviously it was a test: should work on sun only)
In details, it is an azimuth–altitude dual axis tracker that uses the
luminosity differences that invests the three faces of a triangular based
pyramid, each one with its light sensor, and after equalizing all the
luminosity over each face, the pyramid will aim towards the light source
(which is, in this case, a lamp, or could be the Sun)

2. The structure is due to parallel solar panels, in order to boost their
efficiency in producing electricity, thanks to the more light they absorb
Our idea is simple, and uses economic materials: there aren’t any similar
ideas elsewhere, that cost less, and provide good efficiency.
The device, due to the materials we used for it (plywood),
although perfectly working, is so heavy that it requires two motors to get
the azimuthal movement (and the two motors might not always be
synchronized) and it makes the making of the program for the software
harder. Using lighter materials for the structure, i.e. PMMA or fiberglass,
would sort out the issue, and require maybe only one motor. But in order to
be ecologically okay, we want those materials to be as much
biodegradable as possible and that’s why we prefer Wood for the structure
The faces of the pyramid could allow solar cells to beimplemented, so that
the device could not only help other Solar panels to take the best out of the
sun, but also produce some electricity itself, and that’s something we plan
to add in the future.
How the pyramid works (reference to the picture down below):
The pyramid, supported by arm D that moves around the pin E and is
blocked by the wheels G, turns the edge of the intersection of A and B in a
parallel direction to the semicircular leads F, anchored to the circular base
H, on which they are free to turn around the wheels G (in height).
From the difference of the light that invests the faces A and B, the software
memorized in the control unit M, placed under the base H, directs the
commands to the motors that set going the wheels L, until they get the
right azimuthal alignment
After that, it confronts the light that invests face C with the one that was
calculated in A and B, with a consequent activation of the motor that
moves the wheels G In order to get the alignment in height.
Our device is simple to create, requires cheap materials, and the program
of the device is customizable to the different atmospheric conditions,
latitudes, in order to optimize and speed up the aiming process.

4. The italian group,fortheErasmusproject
Edoardo Alaimo,SantiMacaluso,Marco Benigno,MorenoFragapane,Piero Guzzetta,Alessio Tinaglia,
Francesco Casisa
Working along with all the guys in the Feynman group (here’stheirsite: www.gruppofeynman.com )