Single-axis solar tracker control with a solar position web service

This thesis presents an approach for the control of chronological solar trackers using web services in a Service Oriented Architecture. The approach is validated through the design and construction of a web service that provides solar position information for trackers, and the construction of a single-axis solar tracker that connects to the web service to determine how to orient itself. A number of different drive mechanisms are experimented with for the solar tracker, with the worm-gear motor proving to be the most appropriate.