Malaysian integrated ocean observation system (MIOOS) buoy

Marine ecosystem around the world especially in coastal areas are facing threats of extinction from climate change, water pollution, and human activities, and therefore are in an urgent need for a round-the-clock monitoring. A novel Malaysian Integrated Ocean Observation System (MIOOS) buoy has been developed, which integrates an audio and visual surveillance into the traditional ocean data acquisition system (ODAS) buoy with the objective of providing a complete and cost effective coastal monitoring solution for marine parks. The buoy was equipped with sensors to sample oceanographic and meteorological data, and also a hydrophone and two cameras including one omni-directional camera to capture audio and visual data of the surrounding. The buoy embedded system has been designed using a low-power MSP430G2533 from Texas Instrument as the primary microcontroller. The system was powered by an 80Ah Lithium Ion battery, which was rechargeable using two units of 20 Watts solar panels. Data were transmitted to a ground station using XTend 900 MHz wireless module, which were subsequently stored and shared over the internet through a broadband modem. The buoy also has been made configurable using a Short Message Service (SMS) through a GSM modem connected to the ground station. Field testing has been conducted at a coastal area and the oceanographic and meteorological data as well as images have been collected. Data plotted have satisfactorily exposed some trends which are useful in oceanographic and meteorological studies.