| Abstract: | The present invention is directed to an improved method for establishing
camera fixture location for aligning mirrors on a solar collector array
(SCA) comprising multiple mirror modules. The method aligns the mirrors
on a module by comparing the location of the receiver image in
photographs with the predicted theoretical receiver image location. To
accurately align an entire SCA, a common reference is used for all of the
individual module images within the SCA. The improved method can use
relative pixel location information in digital photographs along with
alignment fixture inclinometer data to calculate relative locations of
the fixture between modules. The absolute locations are determined by
minimizing alignment asymmetry for the SCA. The method inherently aligns
all of the mirrors in an SCA to the receiver, even with receiver position
and module-to-module alignment errors. |