Patent ID: 11914374
Assignee: NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY & ENGINEERING SOLUTIONS OF SANDIA, LLC
Field: Control (Instruments)
Classification: CPC G  B  F | IPC B  F  G

Claim 0:
1. An imaging system for inspecting a heliostat, comprising:
a platform and a camera mounted on the platform; a heliostat comprising a plurality of mirrored facets;
the camera positioned to acquire a first image comprising a reference image; and a second image comprising a reflected image captured from at least one facet of the plurality of facets; and a computing apparatus;
the camera configured to store image data associated with the first image and the second image, and to wirelessly transmit the stored image data to the computing apparatus; and
the computing apparatus configured to compare the first image with the second image and determine a performance parameter associated with the heliostat;
wherein the performance parameter is one of a facet position or a facet reflectance ratio; and
wherein the first image is an image of the sun directly acquired by the camera; and the reflectance ratio being determined based on the first image having an intensity Idirect; and the second image is a reflected image having an intensity Ireflected; the reflectance estimated by summing intensities for the second image and for the direct image and computing the reflectance ratio ρ, wherein ρ is defined as:, ρ
  =
  
   ∑
   
    
     I
     reflected
    
    /
    
     ∑
     
      
       I
       direct
      
      .