Monitor Water Pollution Autonomously with the Intelli-Buoy

From food to raw materials and recreation, humans depend on the ocean for many things. Unfortunately, pollution can pose a problem to this vast ecosystem, leading high school students at the BCAMRL mechatronics research lab to design a monitoring pod known as the “Intelli-Buoy II.”

Intelli-Buoy features a sort of four-armed T-shape that enables it to float in the ocean even during rough seas, and uses four solar panels to power to its electronics. Water monitoring is accomplished using turbidity, pH, and dissolved oxygen sensors, while an Adafruit Feather M0 (with built-in SD card) setup handles the collected data. A GPS module also allows this information to be coordinated with location, while a flashing LED on top is available to help with visibility.

Our buoy stays afloat in the ocean for extended periods of time and is entirely self-sufficient. It contains solar panels connected to an internal power module to provide power to run its electrical components. There is a turbidity sensor to measure the clearness and purity of surrounding water, which allows the determination of present contamination. There is also a pH sensor which provides data to keep track of the pH levels in the ocean, as a rising level of acidity in ocean water is harming biological ecosystems. A dissolved oxygen sensor connected as well, to further provide data for analysis. A GPS module allows this data to be transferred to a central monitor or receiving location to be analyzed and stored. The continuous power from the solar panels allows the buoy to stay in the water and provide a continuous updated stream of data

You can see a prototype of the system in the video below, being float-tested in a water tank.