MEMS inertial measurement of ocean waves

Measurement of waves in the ocean is of great importance to many industries and applications including shipping, environmental monitoring and wave energy generation. Current wave measurement solutions range from bottom-mounted acoustic sensors to X-band radar analysis, however, the de facto industry standard is the wave buoy. These instruments are highly accurate and reliable, transmitting wave data to shore in real time. However, the cost of these units is generally above €40,000, and the associated costs of deployment and maintenance can render them prohibitively expensive for many applications. Tyndall WIMU (Wireless Inertial Measurement Unit) motes combine the latest MEMS (Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems) inertial sensors with a microcontroller and wireless communication technology to create a state of the art miniature motion capture device. These devices are here used to measure waves. Following trials in a controlled laboratory setting, application-specific algorithms were developed to calculate wave information, and WIMU motes have been deployed at sea on a data buoy.