High-Level Project Summary
We developed an application that takes parameters of location(longitude, latitude) and a time frame to display the solar irradiance levels at the specified location during the specified time frame. The end user is able to see all associated data displaying the levels of 'all sky surface shortwave irradiance' by simply entering the location coordinates into the application. Therefore, we were able to solve the main issue of the challenge by creating an app that is able to display the data relating to irradiance in a user friendly manner.
Link to Project "Demo"
Link to Final Project
Detailed Project Description
The mobile application we developed displays solar irradiance levels in a graphical, easy to digest format by entering the location coordinates and the time duration. Additionally, the duration parameters can be set to either days or weeks depending on whether the user wants to focus on a shorter or longer duration.
The application has been developed using Java in Android Studio. The NASA POWER API has been used to extract the relevant solar data to be displayed in the app. The Volley library has been used to send the request to the NASA server which returns a JSON file from which the code extracts the relevant data. The GraphView library has also been used to generate the graphs that display the solar data.
The advantage of the app is that it provides the solar data from the NASA Power Portal to the general public in an easy to use mobile app. In comparison to the NASA Power web portal, the app displays only the relevant data and only three variables need to be entered to generate the information.
Space Agency Data
The app displays the solar irradiance data for a specified location from the NASA Power portal. We focussed on this specific data as it is a key factor when deciding whether or not to install solar panels at the site.
Hackathon Journey
We learned how to use Android Studio and as it was our first Hackathon for a few of the team members, it introduced us to pair programming using the Code Together plugin which will provide useful experience for the future. From this experience, we also learned how to use the NASA POWER API.
We were interested in this challenge as it was related to renewable energy, specifically solar energy. The world's fossil fuel energy reserves are rapidly depleting so increasing the use of renewable energy resources is important. Through this application we hope to help encourage the use of solar energy and the installation of solar panels in viable locations to the general public.
We actively used discord to communicate between the team members and identify solutions and alternatives when there were roadblocks during the development of the idea and the application.
References
- Solar irradiance, date and location data from NASA POWER API
- Android Studio (using JAVA)
- Volley library
- Graph View library
Tags
#solar
Global Judging
This project has been submitted for consideration during the Judging process.