>> And finally, a thermal store to release energy when the sun goes down to allow the solar-powered facility to operate around the clock.
> This actually IS new and interesting in this application
Yes, it's a nice thing to have. But it is a major research and engineering project just in itself. It is by no means a solved problem where you can buy a working solution from someone.
> This bit smells like trying to shoehorn in an application of "AI" where it's not really needed - what's the actual improvement using "drones and AI" over just pre-calculating a tracking curve based on latitude + time of day/year? Or just putting down twice as many mirrors and not bothering to make them track?
Open loop (just pre-calculate) is pretty inaccurate in a system like this. Especially over time as the mirror positioning degrades with accumulating inaccuracies.
So there might be a business case for their AI drone calibration system. But just that part in itself is also a major undertaking that requires a significant investmet over a long time to make it a production system.
"Just add more mirrors" sounds like a better business proposition, coupled with a much simpler autocalibration. Perhaps an off-center bullseye target where each mirror periodically aims itself, and a central vision system figures out the azimuth/elevation offsets?
> This is hyperbole
I agree in that I'd be very surprised if they ever get to the point of mass production.
But I agree with the point that generating synthetic fuels from the sun in a 100% renewable way would be very significant.
Sure, in 30-50 years electrical transportation might meet 99% of our needs. But we're not there yet.
> This actually IS new and interesting in this application
Yes, it's a nice thing to have. But it is a major research and engineering project just in itself. It is by no means a solved problem where you can buy a working solution from someone.
> This bit smells like trying to shoehorn in an application of "AI" where it's not really needed - what's the actual improvement using "drones and AI" over just pre-calculating a tracking curve based on latitude + time of day/year? Or just putting down twice as many mirrors and not bothering to make them track?
Open loop (just pre-calculate) is pretty inaccurate in a system like this. Especially over time as the mirror positioning degrades with accumulating inaccuracies.
So there might be a business case for their AI drone calibration system. But just that part in itself is also a major undertaking that requires a significant investmet over a long time to make it a production system.
"Just add more mirrors" sounds like a better business proposition, coupled with a much simpler autocalibration. Perhaps an off-center bullseye target where each mirror periodically aims itself, and a central vision system figures out the azimuth/elevation offsets?
> This is hyperbole
I agree in that I'd be very surprised if they ever get to the point of mass production.
But I agree with the point that generating synthetic fuels from the sun in a 100% renewable way would be very significant.
Sure, in 30-50 years electrical transportation might meet 99% of our needs. But we're not there yet.