High-accuracy azimuth measurements: The ENEA solar compass in its instrumental and smart version

Bollanti, S. and Andreoli, F. and Cafarella, L. and De Meis, D. and Di Lazzaro, P. (2021) High-accuracy azimuth measurements: The ENEA solar compass in its instrumental and smart version. Il Nuovo Cimento C, 44 (4-5). pp. 1-4. ISSN 1826-9885

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Abstract

The accurate assessment of the azimuth of a given direction as, e.g., the geographic North, is of utmost importance in many fields. The electronic solar compass patented by ENEA achieves an accuracy of 0.01◦, it is up to 100 times cheaper than instruments having similar accuracy (GPS, gyros, . . . ), and it is also very fast in answering (few seconds). It is based on a simple but effective optical system to capture the Sun direction, and on an analytical algorithm to provide the Sun position. The ENEA solar compass has been tested and used in many circumstances, e.g., for mapping surveys, to align concentrating solar mirrors, and for orientation measurements of structures in archaeological sites. We obtained notable results, together with INGV, in magnetic declination measurements in Antarctica. Finally, we moved the ENEA solar compass algorithm to smartphones, enabling their use as orienteering devices.

Item Type:	Article
Subjects:	500 Scienze naturali e Matematica > 530 Fisica
Depositing User:	Marina Spanti
Date Deposited:	20 Sep 2021 09:23
Last Modified:	20 Sep 2021 09:23
URI:	http://eprints.bice.rm.cnr.it/id/eprint/21331

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