Recently, the First Institute of Oceanography's Marine and Climate Research Center under the Ministry of Natural Resources, the State Key Laboratory of Marine Pollution (SKLMP) at City University of Hong Kong, and Yulong Technology Co., Ltd have collaboratively upgraded the SKLMP research buoy. They replaced the "brain" of Hong Kong's first set of research buoys - the data acquisition control communication electronics chamber, and successfully deployed it.
Upgraded Buoy, Provided by the First Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources
SKLMP stands as one of China's pivotal research institutions in the domain of marine environmental protection, tasked with the upkeep of ecological monitoring buoys at six stations, including the Hong Kong water station. These buoys have recently exceeded their service life and urgently require upgrades to their electronic communication systems.
The "Bai Long" buoy is the first domestically developed full-spectrum deep-sea (up to 6000 meters) to shallow-sea observation buoy system by the First Institute of Oceanography. It plays a crucial role in China's marine and climate observation endeavors. In recent years, with the support from the national key R&D program and major technological innovation projects of Shandong Province, efforts have been intensified in R&D, in collaboration with leading domestic research institutions and companies. This has led to breakthroughs in key technologies such as data collection controllers, inductive coupling data transmission modules, and high-elasticity nylon ropes, accelerating the localization and industrialization of the "Bai Long" buoy.
Fish-eye lens cameras transmit images provided by the First Institute of Oceanography under the Ministry of Natural Resources. It's been shared that the data collection controller serves as the "brain" of the buoy. To meet the diverse needs of marine observation, the research team has developed a buoy-specific data collection controller featuring fully independent technology. Compared to general commercial data collection controllers, it boasts a simpler design structure, more secure protection system, higher data precision, lower operational energy consumption, and easier functional expansion. This makes it more suitable for marine hydrological and meteorological observation systems, effectively replacing imported data collection controllers.
It's understood that the upgraded SKLMP scientific research buoy data collection and communication system employs the independently developed data collection controller. The upgraded buoy system is not only capable of periodically collecting important parameters from the sea surface and bottom layers, full-depth profiles of current speed and direction, images of the environment surrounding the buoy, and the status of the cabin environment and various sensors but also allows for remote buoy control through a website management system for instant sampling and access to all current monitoring data and live video around the buoy.
Gun camera captures images, courtesy of the First Institute of Oceanography, Ministry of Natural Resources.
It's reported that the recent buoy upgrade represents a landmark achievement in industry-academia-research innovation, merging observation and technical resources from the mainland and Hong Kong. This initiative has established a collaborative relationship in science and innovation between the mainland and Hong Kong, significantly advancing marine science and technology innovation as well as related industrial development, contributing to the national marine environmental monitoring effort.
