{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,2,25]],"date-time":"2026-02-25T07:44:16Z","timestamp":1772005456187,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":20,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"12","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2016,11,25]],"date-time":"2016-11-25T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1480032000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Sensors"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Solar energy is certainly an energy source worth exploring and utilizing because of the environmental protection it offers. However, the conversion efficiency of solar energy is still low. If the photovoltaic panel perpendicularly tracks the sun, the solar energy conversion efficiency will be improved. In this article, we propose an innovative method to track the sun using an image sensor. In our method, it is logical to assume the points of the brightest region in the sky image representing the location of the sun. Then, the center of the brightest region is assumed to be the solar-center, and is mathematically calculated using an embedded processor (Raspberry Pi). Finally, the location information on the sun center is sent to the embedded processor to control two servo motors that are capable of moving both horizontally and vertically to track the sun. In comparison with the existing sun tracking methods using image sensors, such as the Hough transform method, our method based on the brightest region in the sky image remains accurate under conditions such as a sunny day and building shelter. The practical sun tracking system using our method was implemented and tested. The results reveal that the system successfully captured the real sun center in most weather conditions, and the servo motor system was able to direct the photovoltaic panel perpendicularly to the sun center. In addition, our system can be easily and practically integrated, and can operate in real-time.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/s16121995","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2016,11,25]],"date-time":"2016-11-25T08:18:15Z","timestamp":1480061895000},"page":"1995","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":26,"title":["Design of a Solar Tracking System Using the Brightest Region in the Sky Image Sensor"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"16","author":[{"given":"Ching-Chuan","family":"Wei","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung 41349, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Yu-Chang","family":"Song","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung 41349, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chia-Chi","family":"Chang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung 41349, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Chuan-Bi","family":"Lin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Chaoyang University of Technology, Taichung 41349, Taiwan"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,11,25]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1800","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rser.2009.01.022","article-title":"A review of principle and sun-tracking methods for maximizing solar systems output","volume":"13","author":"Mousazadeh","year":"2009","journal-title":"Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"393","DOI":"10.1016\/S0960-1481(03)00196-4","article-title":"Design and construction of a system for sun-tracking","volume":"29","author":"Roth","year":"2004","journal-title":"Renew. Energy"},{"key":"ref_3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"2411","DOI":"10.1016\/j.renene.2005.11.008","article-title":"Design and construction of a two-axis sun tracking system for parabolic trough collector (PTC) efficiency improvement","volume":"31","author":"Bakos","year":"2006","journal-title":"Renew. Energy"},{"key":"ref_4","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"752","DOI":"10.1016\/j.rser.2013.06.019","article-title":"Models for the electrical characterization of high concentration photovoltaic cells and modules: A review","volume":"26","author":"Rodrigo","year":"2013","journal-title":"Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev."},{"key":"ref_5","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1280","DOI":"10.1109\/TPEL.2011.2105506","article-title":"Maximum efficiency trajectories of a two-axis sun tracking system determined considering tracking system consumption","volume":"26","author":"Seme","year":"2011","journal-title":"IEEE Trans. Power Electron."},{"key":"ref_6","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3875","DOI":"10.3390\/s90503875","article-title":"Sun tracking systems: A review","volume":"9","author":"Lee","year":"2009","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_7","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"4050","DOI":"10.3923\/jas.2009.4050.4055","article-title":"A novel active sun tracking controller for photovoltaic panels","volume":"9","author":"Khatib","year":"2009","journal-title":"J. Appl. Sci."},{"key":"ref_8","unstructured":"Goswami, D.Y., Kreith, F., and Kreder, J. (1999). Principles of Solar Engineering, Taylor & Francis."},{"key":"ref_9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"1187","DOI":"10.1016\/j.renene.2006.05.001","article-title":"Derivation of the solar geometric relationships using vector analysis","volume":"32","author":"Sproul","year":"2007","journal-title":"Renew. Energy"},{"key":"ref_10","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"49","DOI":"10.1016\/j.solmat.2004.08.010","article-title":"A simple photo-voltaic tracking system","volume":"87","author":"Karimov","year":"2005","journal-title":"Solar Energy Mater. Solar Cells"},{"key":"ref_11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"65","DOI":"10.1016\/0038-092X(90)90029-C","article-title":"Simple electro-optically controlled dual-axis sun tracker","volume":"45","author":"Lynch","year":"1990","journal-title":"Solar Energy"},{"key":"ref_12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"487","DOI":"10.1016\/0038-092X(93)90110-A","article-title":"Sun-tracking mechanism using equatorial and ecliptic axes","volume":"50","author":"Davies","year":"1993","journal-title":"Solar Energy"},{"key":"ref_13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"3","DOI":"10.1016\/0038-092X(84)90042-2","article-title":"Experience with a sun tracker system","volume":"32","author":"Hession","year":"1984","journal-title":"Solar Energy"},{"key":"ref_14","unstructured":"Arturo, M.M., and Alejandro, G.P. (July, January 30). High-precision solar tracking system. Proceedings of the World Congress on Engineering 2010 Vol. II (WCE 2010), London, UK."},{"key":"ref_15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"5448","DOI":"10.3390\/s130505448","article-title":"The development of sun-tracking system using image processing","volume":"13","author":"Lee","year":"2013","journal-title":"Sensors"},{"key":"ref_16","first-page":"369","article-title":"Image-based solar tracker using raspberry","volume":"1","author":"Rahim","year":"2014","journal-title":"J. Multidiscip. Eng. Sci. Technol."},{"key":"ref_17","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"146","DOI":"10.1117\/1.1631315","article-title":"Survey over image thresholding techniques and quantitative performance evaluation","volume":"13","author":"Sezgin","year":"2004","journal-title":"J. Electron. Imaging"},{"key":"ref_18","unstructured":"Gonzalez, R.C., and Woods, R.E. (2008). Digital Image Processing, Pearson International Edition. [3rd ed.]."},{"key":"ref_19","unstructured":"YcbCr. Available online: https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/YcbCr."},{"key":"ref_20","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"15","DOI":"10.1016\/S0262-8856(98)00090-0","article-title":"Circle recognition through a 2D Hough Transform and radius histogramming","volume":"17","author":"Ioannou","year":"1999","journal-title":"Image Vision Comput."}],"container-title":["Sensors"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/16\/12\/1995\/pdf","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2025,10,11]],"date-time":"2025-10-11T19:27:28Z","timestamp":1760210848000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.mdpi.com\/1424-8220\/16\/12\/1995"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2016,11,25]]},"references-count":20,"journal-issue":{"issue":"12","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2016,12]]}},"alternative-id":["s16121995"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/s16121995","relation":{},"ISSN":["1424-8220"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1424-8220","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2016,11,25]]}}}