Solar panel dust detection system and method using image processing technique

Abstract

The present invention relates to a solar panel dust detection system using an image processing technique. According to the present invention, the system comprises a dust measuring plate installed on one side of a solar panel; a contaminant removal unit for removing contaminants accumulated on a first area of ​​the dust measuring plate; an image acquisition unit for acquiring an image of the dust measuring plate from which contaminants have been removed from the first area by the contaminant removal unit; an analysis unit for distinguishing between the first area from which contaminants have been removed and a second area from which contaminants have not been removed in the image acquired by the image acquisition unit, and determining whether the solar panel has been cleaned based on the comparison result between the image of the first area and the image of the second area; and a control unit for controlling the operation of the contaminant removal unit and the image acquisition unit. According to the present invention, after cleaning only a portion of a dust measuring plate, the amount of contaminants accumulated on a solar panel can be indirectly evaluated and the solar panel cleaned by comparing the image of the area where contaminants have been removed with the image of the area where contaminants have not been removed in the entire image of the dust measuring plate. Accordingly, even if the image quality varies depending on the surrounding environment during image acquisition, the degree of contamination of the solar panel can be accurately evaluated to determine whether the solar panel has been cleaned.

Description

Technology Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a solar panel dust detection system and method using an image processing technique, and more specifically, to a solar panel dust detection system and method using an image processing technique in which a dust measuring plate is installed on one side of a solar panel, contaminants accumulated on a part of the dust measuring plate are removed, and then an entire image of the dust measuring plate is acquired, and the solar panel is determined whether to clean the solar panel based on the result of comparing the image of the area where the contaminants were removed with the image of the area where the contaminants were not removed. Background Technology

[0002] Solar power generation is a method of generating electricity that utilizes solar cells to convert sunlight into electricity. It is widely used because it can produce electricity with just solar cells and solar panels, which are collections of solar cells.

[0003] Generally, since solar panels are installed outdoors, dust and various contaminants tend to accumulate. As contamination causes a sharp drop in solar power generation efficiency, it is necessary to clean the solar panels periodically.

[0004] To this end, a technology has been proposed to determine whether to clean the solar panel or to automatically clean the solar panel by judging the degree of contamination based on images of the solar panel.

[0005] However, since image quality can vary significantly depending on the surrounding environment, such as ambient illumination when acquiring images of solar panels, there is a limitation in that it is difficult to accurately determine the degree of contamination by utilizing only images of solar panels. The problem to be solved

[0006] As such, the present invention aims to provide a solar panel dust detection system and method using an image processing technique, wherein a dust measuring plate is installed on one side of a solar panel, contaminants accumulated on a part of the dust measuring plate are removed, and then an entire image of the dust measuring plate is acquired, and the solar panel is determined based on the result of comparing the image of the area where contaminants were removed with the image of the area where contaminants were not removed. means of solving the problem

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present invention for achieving such technical challenges, a solar panel dust detection system using an image processing technique comprises: a dust measuring plate installed on one side of a solar panel; a contaminant removal unit for removing contaminants accumulated on a first area of ​​the dust measuring plate; an image acquisition unit for acquiring an image of the dust measuring plate from which contaminants on the first area have been removed by the contaminant removal unit; an analysis unit for distinguishing between the first area from which contaminants have been removed and a second area from which contaminants have not been removed in the image acquired by the image acquisition unit, and determining whether the solar panel has been cleaned based on the comparison result between the image of the first area and the image of the second area; and a control unit for controlling the operation of the contaminant removal unit and the image acquisition unit.

[0008] The above-mentioned contaminant removal unit may include a cleaning tool for removing contaminants accumulated on the dust measuring plate and a motor for moving the cleaning tool to remove contaminants accumulated on a first area of ​​the dust measuring plate.

[0009] The first area is an area corresponding to one half of the dust measuring plate, and the second area may be an area corresponding to the other half of the dust measuring plate excluding the first area.

[0010] The analysis unit can convert the color image acquired by the image acquisition unit into a grayscale image, calculate a histogram for each of the first region and the second region, and then determine whether to clean the solar panel based on the result of comparing the average values ​​of the histograms of the first region and the second region.

[0011] The analysis unit may determine that cleaning of the solar panel is required if the histogram average value of the first region is greater than or equal to a preset value compared to the histogram average value of the second region.

[0012] Meanwhile, according to an embodiment of the present invention, a method for detecting dust on a solar panel using an image processing technique comprises: a step of removing contaminants accumulated on a first area of ​​a dust measuring plate installed on one side of a solar panel according to an input dust measurement command; a step of acquiring a color image of the dust measuring plate; a step of converting the acquired color image into a grayscale image; a step of calculating histograms for each of the first area where contaminants have been removed and the second area where contaminants have not been removed in the converted grayscale image; and a step of determining whether the solar panel has been cleaned based on the result of comparing the average histogram values ​​of the first area and the second area. Effects of the invention

[0013] According to the present invention, after cleaning only a portion of a dust measuring plate, the amount of contaminants accumulated on a solar panel can be indirectly evaluated and the solar panel cleaned by comparing the image of the area where contaminants have been removed with the image of the area where contaminants have not been removed in the entire image of the dust measuring plate. Accordingly, even if the image quality varies depending on the surrounding environment during image acquisition, the degree of contamination of the solar panel can be accurately evaluated to determine whether the solar panel has been cleaned. Brief explanation of the drawing

[0014] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a solar panel dust detection system using an image processing technique according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for detecting dust on a solar panel using an image processing technique according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specific details for implementing the invention

[0015] Preferred embodiments according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the attached drawings. In this process, the thickness of lines or the size of components shown in the drawings may be exaggerated for clarity and convenience of explanation.

[0016] Furthermore, the terms described below are defined in consideration of their functions in the present invention, and these may vary depending on the intent or practice of the user or operator. Therefore, the definitions of these terms should be based on the content throughout this specification.

[0017] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a solar panel dust detection system using an image processing technique according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0018] Referring to FIG. 1, a solar panel dust detection system (100) using an image processing technique according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a dust measuring plate (110), a contaminant removal unit (120), an image acquisition unit (130), an analysis unit (140), and a control unit (150).

[0019] A dust measuring plate (110) is installed on one side of the solar panel.

[0020] Specifically, the dust measuring plate (110) may be installed in a location close to the solar panel. In this case, if contaminants such as dust accumulate on the solar panel for a predetermined period, the same level of contaminants may also accumulate on the dust measuring plate (110). Accordingly, according to an embodiment of the present invention, the contamination state of the solar panel can be indirectly evaluated by using the contamination state of the dust measuring plate (110) installed near the solar panel.

[0021] The contaminant removal unit (120) removes contaminants accumulated on the first area of ​​the dust measuring plate (110).

[0022] According to one embodiment, the contaminant removal unit (120) may include a cleaning tool for removing contaminants accumulated on a dust measuring plate (110) and a motor for moving the cleaning tool to remove contaminants accumulated on a first area of ​​the dust measuring plate (110).

[0023] At this time, the cleaning tool may include a cleaning brush or cloth, etc., that can remove contaminants accumulated on the dust measuring plate (110) without damaging the dust measuring plate (110).

[0024] And, the first area is an area corresponding to one half of the dust measuring plate (110), and the second area may be an area corresponding to the other half of the dust measuring plate (110) excluding the first area.

[0025] The image acquisition unit (130) acquires an image of the entire dust measuring plate (110) from which contaminants on the first area have been removed by the contaminant removal unit (120).

[0026] The analysis unit (140) distinguishes between a first area where contaminants have been removed and a second area where contaminants have not been removed from the image acquired by the image acquisition unit (130), and determines whether to clean the solar panel based on the comparison result between the image of the first area and the image of the second area.

[0027] According to one embodiment, the analysis unit (140) can convert the color image acquired by the image acquisition unit (130) into a grayscale image and calculate a histogram for each of the first region and the second region.

[0028] Additionally, the analysis unit (140) can compare the average histogram values ​​of the first region and the second region and determine whether to clean the solar panel based on the comparison result.

[0029] More specifically, the analysis unit (140) can determine that cleaning of the solar panel is required if the average histogram value of the first region is greater than or equal to a preset value compared to the average histogram value of the second region.

[0030] The control unit (150) controls the operation of the contaminant removal unit (120) and the image acquisition unit (130).

[0031] According to one embodiment, when a dust measurement command is input from a user or a preset measurement time arrives, the control unit (150) controls the contaminant removal unit (120) to remove contaminants accumulated on the first area of ​​the dust measurement plate (110).

[0032] When the contaminant removal unit (120) completes its operation, the control unit (150) controls the image acquisition unit (130) to acquire an image of the entire dust measuring plate (110).

[0033] When an image is acquired from the image acquisition unit (130), the control unit (150) receives the image acquired from the image acquisition unit (130) and transmits the image to the analysis unit (140).

[0034] FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a method for detecting dust on a solar panel using an image processing technique according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0035] Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a method for detecting dust on a solar panel using an image processing technique includes the steps of: removing contaminants accumulated on a first area of ​​a dust measuring plate installed on one side of a solar panel according to an input dust measurement command (S210); acquiring a color image of the dust measuring plate (S220); converting the acquired color image into a grayscale image (S230); calculating a histogram for each of the first area where contaminants have been removed and the second area where contaminants have not been removed in the converted grayscale image (S240); and determining whether to clean the solar panel based on the result of comparing the average value of the histograms of the first area and the second area (S250).

[0036] In the step (S210) of removing contaminants accumulated on a first area of ​​a dust measuring plate (110) installed on one side of a solar panel according to an input dust measuring command, when a dust measuring command is input from the analysis unit (140) of the solar panel dust detection system (100) using an image processing technique, the contaminant removal unit (120) is controlled through the control unit (150) to remove contaminants accumulated on the first area of ​​the dust measuring plate (110).

[0037] In the step of acquiring a color image of the dust measuring plate (S220), the entire color image of the dust measuring plate (110) from which contaminants have been removed in the step of removing contaminants (S210) is acquired through the image acquisition unit (130).

[0038] In the step of converting the acquired color image into a grayscale image (S230), the color image of the dust measuring plate (110) acquired in the step of acquiring the color image (S220) is transmitted to the analysis unit (140) through the control unit (130), and converted into a grayscale image using the analysis unit (140).

[0039] In the step (S240) of calculating histograms for each of the first region from which contaminants have been removed and the second region from which contaminants have not been removed in the converted grayscale image, the first region from which contaminants have been removed and the second region from which contaminants have not been removed are distinguished, and histograms for each of the first region and the second region are calculated.

[0040] In the step (S250) of determining whether to clean the solar panel based on the result of comparing the average histogram values ​​of the first and second regions, the average value of the histogram obtained in the step of calculating the histogram (S240) is compared, and the result of comparing is used to determine whether to clean the solar panel.

[0041] More specifically, as the amount of pollutants accumulated in the second region increases, the distribution of gray close to black increases, and accordingly, the average value of the histogram in the second region decreases.

[0042] Therefore, if the average histogram value of the first region is greater than or equal to a preset value compared to the average histogram value of the second region, it can be determined that cleaning of the solar panel is required.

[0043] The present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, but this is merely illustrative, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent alternative embodiments are possible therefrom. Accordingly, the true technical scope of protection of the present invention should be determined by the technical spirit of the following claims. Explanation of the symbols

[0044] 100: Solar panel dust detection system 110: Dust meter 120: Contaminant removal unit 130: Image acquisition unit 140: Analysis Department 150: Control unit

Claims

Claim 1 A solar panel dust detection system using an image processing technique comprising: a dust measuring plate positioned on one side of a solar panel but installed separately from the solar panel; a contaminant removal unit for removing contaminants accumulated on a first area, which is a part of the dust measuring plate; an image acquisition unit for acquiring an image of the dust measuring plate in a state where contaminants on the first area have been removed by the contaminant removal unit; an analysis unit for distinguishing between the first area where contaminants have been removed and the second area where contaminants have not been removed in an image acquired at the same time by the image acquisition unit, and determining whether the solar panel has been cleaned based on the comparison result between the first area and the second area within the image; and a control unit for controlling the operation of the contaminant removal unit and the image acquisition unit. Claim 2 A solar panel dust detection system using an image processing technique according to claim 1, wherein the contaminant removal unit comprises: a cleaning tool for removing contaminants accumulated on the dust measuring plate; and a motor for moving the cleaning tool to remove contaminants accumulated on a first area of ​​the dust measuring plate. Claim 3 A solar panel dust detection system using an image processing technique according to claim 1, wherein the first area is an area corresponding to one half of the dust measuring plate, and the second area is an area corresponding to the other half of the dust measuring plate excluding the first area. Claim 4 A solar panel dust detection system using an image processing technique, wherein the analysis unit converts a color image acquired by the image acquisition unit into a grayscale image, calculates a histogram for each of the first region and the second region, and determines whether the solar panel has been cleaned based on the result of comparing the average value of the histograms of the first region and the second region. Claim 5 A solar panel dust detection system using an image processing technique, wherein the analysis unit determines that cleaning of the solar panel is required if the histogram average value of the first region is greater than or equal to a preset value compared to the histogram average value of the second region. Claim 6 A method for detecting dust on a solar panel using an image processing technique, comprising: a step of removing contaminants accumulated on a first area, which is a part of a dust measuring plate installed separately from the solar panel and positioned on one side of the solar panel according to an input dust measuring command; a step of acquiring a color image of the dust measuring plate; a step of converting the color image acquired at the same time into a grayscale image; a step of calculating histograms for each of the first area where contaminants have been removed and the second area where contaminants have not been removed from the converted grayscale image; and a step of determining whether the solar panel has been cleaned based on the result of comparing the average histogram values ​​of the first area and the second area.

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