{"id":39528,"date":"2025-05-12T08:00:37","date_gmt":"2025-05-12T12:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/?p=39528"},"modified":"2025-05-29T14:10:27","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T18:10:27","slug":"wave-sensors-integration-with-nexsens-buoys-a-cutting-edge-solution-for-wave-measurement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fondriest.com\/news\/wave-sensors-integration-with-nexsens-buoys-a-cutting-edge-solution-for-wave-measurement.htm","title":{"rendered":"Wave Sensors Integration with NexSens Buoys: A Cutting-Edge Solution for Wave Measurement"},"content":{"rendered":"

Real-time wave data supports accurate weather prediction, safe and efficient maritime operations, and provides valuable safety and operating condition information for recreation and commercial fishing.<\/p>\n

Understanding wave dynamics also helps with the design of protective coastal structures like seawalls, breakwaters, and jetties. It also supports better prediction of their impact on sediment transport and coastal geomorphology.<\/p>\n

Wave data is a key factor in qualifying and designing offshore wind farms and harnessing kinetic energy for electrical generation. It helps with the understanding of ocean-atmosphere interactions and contributes to studies of sea-level rise and climate change impacts.<\/p>\n

\"A

A NexSens CB-75-SVS Wave Buoy. (Credit: Emma Jones \/ Fondriest Environmental)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Revolutionizing Marine Monitoring\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Wave sensors like the SeaView SVS-603HR<\/a> are revolutionary for marine monitoring, providing accurate measurements of wave height, period, and direction. These advanced sensors detect motion and orientation of floating platforms\u2013such as NexSens buoys\u2013transforming raw data into actionable insights with the help of sophisticated algorithms.<\/p>\n

Unlike seafloor-deployed Acoustic Wave and Current Profilers (AWAC), the buoy-based SeaView sensor calculates wave statistics directly and operates with significantly lower power consumption, making it ideal for long-term, real-time monitoring.<\/p>\n

Designed for surface monitoring rather than bottom-mounting, these sensors can function on moored and drifting buoys, offering enhanced deployment flexibility.<\/p>\n

Timothy Crandle, President at SeaView, explains that in comparison to previous generation wave measurement systems and their \u201cpower-hungry hardware,\u201d the SVS-603HR, which uses an inertial measuring unit (IMU) and a microcontroller, uses a fraction of the power and physical footprint.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe low power consumption and minimal maintenance offered by the SVS-603HR make it the ideal tool for deepwater extended duration deployments or smaller platforms where available power and payload capacity are limited,\u201d says Crandle.<\/p>\n

When paired with NexSens buoys, this system is small and compact enough for solo deployments. It is ready to handle harsh environments, combining modularity and durability.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been developing a massive library of deployment data over the past seven years on just about every buoy or vehicle you can imagine,\u201d states Crandle. \u201cThis gives us an invaluable foundation of buoy behavior for nearly any platform we encounter.\u201d<\/p>\n

And part of the ongoing development and qualification of the sensor includes direct comparison with several previously standard wave measurement systems, including both buoy-mounted sensors and bottom-mounted systems like AWACs.<\/p>\n

How to Measure Waves with MEMS<\/span><\/h3>\n

The SeaView sensor relies on a microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) inertial measurement unit IMU to monitor platform motion, orientation, and angular velocities in all three axes.<\/p>\n

The accelerometer detects vertical and horizontal movement, indicating the orbital motion of the buoy or vehicle platform, which is essential for measuring wave height, wave period, and direction. The sensor also includes the capability to apply an on-board Response Amplitude Operator (RAO) that can correct for specific characteristics of the deployment platform.<\/p>\n

The sensor\u2019s gyroscope and magnetometer detect the buoy\u2019s tilt, helping correct the effects of non-ideal buoy motion by accounting for pitch, roll, and yaw as well as allowing for flexible sensor placement.<\/p>\n

Using the data from these sensors, advanced signal processing algorithms are applied to separate out the different forces acting on the buoy.<\/p>\n

A Kalman Filter<\/a> maintains the accuracy of each of the readings from the accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer, as well as a Fast Fourier Transform<\/a>, which helps isolate the wave-induced motion from noise or other sources of motion that are not the result of waves.<\/p>\n

Exceptional Accuracy in Challenging Conditions<\/span><\/h3>\n

The SeaView sensor stands out among buoy-based sensors for its exceptional accuracy in wave data collection, making it ideal for research and engineering applications that demand precise wave spectra with fine resolution.<\/p>\n

Its high sensitivity and advanced proprietary algorithms enable it to capture rapid and extreme wave fluctuations with remarkable detail\u2013it can measure wave heights with a resolution of 0.1 cm.<\/p>\n

With millisecond period resolution and up to 8 Hz output statistics, the sensor provides detailed directional spectra, enabling the identification of multiple overlapping wave systems, such as swell and wind waves.<\/p>\n

See the table for comparison metrics:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u00a0Feature<\/strong><\/td>\n\u00a0Seaview SVS-603HR<\/strong><\/td>\n\u00a0Typical<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wave Height Accuracy<\/td>\n< \u00b10.1 cm<\/td>\n< \u00b15 cm<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wave Period Accuracy<\/td>\n\u00b120 ms<\/td>\nNot Disclosed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Wave Direction Accuracy<\/td>\n< \u00b11\u00ba<\/td>\nNot Disclosed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Sampling Rate<\/td>\nup to 8 Hz<\/td>\n2.5 Hz<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Multiple Waves<\/td>\nAccurately resolves overlapping wave fields (swell + wind waves)<\/td>\nMay struggle to resolve two simultaneous wave directions precisely.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Field Trials Comparison<\/td>\nNortek AWAC – R\u00b2 = 0.9913
\nTeledyne ADCP – R\u00b2 = 0.95778<\/td>\n		Not Disclosed<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Data Online<\/td>\nNexSens WQDataLive<\/td>\nThrough the integrated platform<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Platform Used<\/span><\/td>\nNexSens open platform with standard protocols<\/span><\/td>\nClosed platform<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cost<\/span><\/td>\n$8,000<\/span><\/td>\n$5,000<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

How SeaView Sensors Work<\/span><\/h3>\n

SeaView\u2019s technological lead comes not just from their unique approach of using MEMS sensors but also through data processing using their proprietary algorithms. This includes the Mean Noise Filter (MNF), which eliminates spurious data and reduces the effects of non-wave motion, such as buoy vibrations or sensor noise. These filters work by distinguishing between wave-induced motion and platform movement.<\/p>\n

The SVS-603HR\u2019s built-in motion compensation algorithms, powered by onboard accelerometers and gyroscopes, are specifically designed to correct for platform motion, making the sensor highly adaptable to a variety of hull designs and deployment scenarios.<\/p>\n

\"Seaview

Seaview SVS-603HR sensor board. (Credit: Emma Jones \/ Fondriest Environmental)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Tested Capabilities<\/span><\/h3>\n

The Seaview SVS-603HR has proved itself in field tests, comparisons against both radar systems and acoustic doppler systems. Moreover, each sensor is individually verified.<\/p>\n

Crandle explains, \u201cWe’ve got a diverse battery of tests that we put the sensor through when we’re doing a release qualification, and we do a subset of that test every time we ship a sensor out. We run it through various tests, qualify its accuracy, confirm its calibration, and so on before it gets shipped to customers.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Mara

Mara Isenstein, Project Engineer at Seaview, demonstrates moving a SeaView sensor and the real-time visualization of the tracking updating at 4Hz wave statistics. (Credit: Seaview)<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Integration with NexSens Buoys<\/span><\/h3>\n

All of the NexSens data buoys<\/a> offer seamless integration with the Seaview SVS-603HR via the X3 data logger<\/a>, and the NexSens CB-75-SVS Wave Buoy<\/a> offers a premade system.<\/p>\n

By connecting to the NexSens buoy, clients can benefit from:<\/p>\n