Small photovoltaic sun tracking heliostat with self storing panels

[eDJ_]

Recently I saw one of these on a TV channel. The panels would fold one behind the other to store for the evening hours but when the sun comes up the panels begin to deploy to make a circular arrangement. As this is a heliostat it tracks the sun across the sky all day until evening when it shuts down and like a flower "fold up" for the night. It was a manageable size that could be taken along and set up once in camp. Thought I'd mention it here and see if anyone else has seen it ? (I've Googled for it but can't find anything yet)

 

[eDJ_]

As a follow on here are a couple sketches to illustrate it. The first shows the main panel which stays in it's fixed position with the other 5 panels behind it. When the sun rises the console is set to the east where the moving panels (1 thru 5) deploy to open like a flower. As the sun moves across the sky the sensor (in the base + in the O) tracks it by slowly rotating the console to follow it westward. At sundown the sensor/tracker is programed to rotate the console back to the east for the next morning. (this is also set up to incline to the best degree for maximum efficiency even though the sketch doesn't show that)

Now, if this same design were to set up with mirror panels and a post from the center with a copper tubing coil, it could heat water. That design would probably come with an insulated tank the console would store in and the console have a re-circulation pump set to kick off when the water reached the desired temperature. (and the panels close back up)

But I thought it was an idea with possibilities.

 

[abnorm]

https://smartflower.com/
From Austria about $25k+/-

 

[eDJ_]

Yes, thanks ! That's what I got a glimpse of the other day. I wonder if it could be scaled down for RV use. (an 8 ft diameter ....4 ft tall when folded up)

Heliostats often have small anemometers on them to signal the wind speed is too high for their operation.. (so the computer control will tether them for least wind resistance) This "smart flower" concept offers benefits if production engineering could bring the price within reach. Similar for water heating.