Brief:

WISOLAR will be an intelligent stand-alone monitor and control unit, that communicates through wireless technology and will be powered through solar energy. In order for the system to be usable for a large amount of applications, it must realise the vision of “optimally connected anywhere, anytime”. Therefore, WISOLAR takes advantage of the most significant communications methods available in the market. Because of its remote mode of operation, the most suitable technologies to be used are: cellular (SMS, CSD, GPRS and UMTS) and for remote areas satellite communication.

Since power management can be crucial for the optimal functioning of the system, a very unique feature of WISOLAR is its energy management control. WISOLAR is powered through solar energy, a source that is not constant and under certain situations even unpredictable. Therefore the WISOLAR system takes relevant factors (maximum power needed, minimum power required, geographical positioning, sun chart for each latitude, meteorological information, etc.) as parameters into its power usage formula. The power usage formula calculates constantly the amount of power needed by the application, as well as the power resources available (battery state) in combination with the solar energy available at that moment of time. A unique feature is that meteorological information is also taken into consideration. Weather forecast and weather statistics of the last

years for the considered location are acquired by the WISOLAR unit and used for the determination of the optimal power management strategy.