OUC Solar Sculpture

The OUC Solar Sculpture Project is an interdisciplinary project that brings together Electrical, Computer, and Mechanical Engineering students, as well as art students, to design a sculpture that will be constructed outside the Orlando City Soccer Stadium. The goal of the project is to improve public perception of solar power. The sculpture will have solar panels to generate power and bring the design to life. Unlike standard solar panel implementation, these will be incorporated into the sculptural design in an effort to prove that solar power is not only environmentally friendly but can be aesthetically pleasing as well. This website is dedicated to the work of the Electrical and Computer Engineering team who worked on this project.

Team Impact Prototype

Team Impact came up with a design that involved three pedestals to hold the solar panels, referred to as risers, and a soccer ball that is split in two. The concept was that the energy of the ball impacting on the ground caused it to split open. Our system provided them the lights they needed to show the direction of the energy by having streams of light descend the risers and the ascend the two halves of the ball.

Team Golazo Prototype

Team Golazo came up with a design that had a large column at the base, depicting the two Orlando soccer teams fans and a soccer player striking a ball. On top of the column is the ball the soccer player is depicted striking. Later, they also added a net on top of the ball to show the soccer player scoring a goal. That net held their solar panels. The sculpture prototype used dichroic glass to give it the eye-catching colors seen in the picture. Our system provided the team a means of lighting the sculpture from the inside with different colors that could be changed via an infrared sensor. The changes in the lights on the inside totally changes the look on the outside.

Team Gyration Prototype

Team gyration created an abstract soccer ball that had beautiful cutout panels depicting the Soccer team’s lion logo on some and abstract soccer inspired patterns on others. They also created a base for the soccer ball to be mounted on that had cast stone benches. The solar panels are mounted on the top panels of the soccer ball on four sides. Out team provided lighting for the inside of the prototype to cast shadows that extended the sculptures aesthetics without having to extend the sculpture. The lighting could be changed to different colors and patterns by using an infrared sensor as a switch.

Team Members:	Sponsorship:
Denis Aybar, EE	Orlando Utilities Commission
Juan Forero, EE	Sponsor Contact:
Simon McGlynn, CpE	Justin Kramer, OUC, via Dr. Mark Steiner
Daniel Truong, CpE

Below is a collection of all the documents, code, and PCB design files produced for this project.

Senior Design 1 Initial 10-page Document:

Senior Design 1 120-page Semester Paper:

Senior Design 2 Critical Design Review (CDR):

Senior Design 2 Conference Paper:

Senior Design 2 Final Presentation:

Senior Design 2 Final Paper:

Arduino Code for The System Created:

PCB Eagle Files: