Editorial Type:
Article
Article Type:
Research Article

Development of a Flexible, Extendable, and Low-Cost Control Unit for Surface Drifters

Andrea Giudici Institute of Cybernetics, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia

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Tomas Torsvik Institute of Cybernetics, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia

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Tarmo Soomere Institute of Cybernetics, Tallinn University of Technology, Tallinn, Estonia

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Print Publication:
01 Mar 2017
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1175/JTECH-D-16-0116.1
Page(s):
669–677
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Abstract

An extensible, low-cost drifter control unit (VELELLA) design is presented, developed for use in drifters that are deployed in inland water bodies or near-coast regions. The control unit is custom built from basic components built around a small footprint microcontroller, making use of a GPS receiver for position tracking, a Global System for Mobile Communications [Groupe SpécialMobile (GSM)] radio for data transmission, and two sensor buses to handle analog and digital data generated by an arbitrary array of external sensors. A cloud-based data collection platform has been implemented to receive and store data transmitted over general packet radio service (GPRS) from the drifter. The control unit was found to perform satisfactorily in operational testing, providing data at subhertz frequency for position and temperature during extended time. However, some issues related to temporary data loss and power consumption spikes were identified, indicating that some further development of the control unit is required to achieve a production-ready platform for extensive and prolonged field operations.

© 2017 American Meteorological Society. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).

Corresponding author e-mail: Andrea Giudici, andrea@cens.ioc.ee

Abstract

An extensible, low-cost drifter control unit (VELELLA) design is presented, developed for use in drifters that are deployed in inland water bodies or near-coast regions. The control unit is custom built from basic components built around a small footprint microcontroller, making use of a GPS receiver for position tracking, a Global System for Mobile Communications [Groupe SpécialMobile (GSM)] radio for data transmission, and two sensor buses to handle analog and digital data generated by an arbitrary array of external sensors. A cloud-based data collection platform has been implemented to receive and store data transmitted over general packet radio service (GPRS) from the drifter. The control unit was found to perform satisfactorily in operational testing, providing data at subhertz frequency for position and temperature during extended time. However, some issues related to temporary data loss and power consumption spikes were identified, indicating that some further development of the control unit is required to achieve a production-ready platform for extensive and prolonged field operations.

© 2017 American Meteorological Society. For information regarding reuse of this content and general copyright information, consult the AMS Copyright Policy (www.ametsoc.org/PUBSReuseLicenses).

Corresponding author e-mail: Andrea Giudici, andrea@cens.ioc.ee
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Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology

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