Design, development and validation of smart sensor drifting node with INSAT telemetry for oceanographic applications

Drifter buoys are globally deployed to measure surface meteorological and oceanographic variables. A Lagrangian drifting buoy (Pradyu II) to measure sea-surface temperature and current has been developed at the National Institute of Ocean Technology, Chennai. The drifter buoy with geostationary satellite communication (INSAT-3C) to have near real-time data at every hour is a unique attempt in the history of drifting buoy nodes. This article describes Pradyu II drifting buoy node, design of low-power embedded system, communication network and field test results from an experiment conducted in the Bay of Bengal during March–April 2013. The results from Pradyu II are compared with commercially available drifting buoy (Marlin-Yug), moored data buoy (BD11) and remotely sensed data.