OLB: An Open Lora Buoy for Coastal Water Measurements

TL;DR

This paper introduces OLB, an open-source, low-cost, and power-efficient LoRa-based buoy for coastal water measurements, validated through experiments showing reliable long-range communication and extended battery life.

Contribution

The paper presents the design, implementation, and validation of OLB, an open-source LoRa buoy for oceanographic data collection, enhancing accessibility and customization in ocean monitoring technology.

Findings

Radio telemetry range exceeds 2 km

Battery lifetime up to seven months

Reliable and low-cost oceanographic measurements

Abstract

Oceanographic instrumentation technology is currently under rapid transition towards increasingly open-source technology. Open-source buoys compete with commercial and closed-source buoys both in price, functionality and availability. Long-range radio (LoRa) is a communication technology which is inexpensive both in terms of data transfer cost and power without the need for pre-existing infrastructure. In this paper, we present OLB, an open-source drifter buoy using LoRa for coastal water measurements. OLB is designed to be reliable, low-cost, modifiable and power efficient. We present validation experiments demonstrating that OLB can achieve a radio telemetry range of more than 2 kilometres, and has an expected battery lifetime of up to seven months. Finally, we discuss the role and contribution of OLB in the space of open-source instrumentation and ocean modelling.