WaveDroid: measuring waves with a smartphone
Themes: Water & Maritime
Market ready application
A TRL is a measure to indicate the matureness of a developing technology. When an innovative idea is discovered it is often not directly suitable for application. Usually such novel idea is subjected to further experimentation, testing and prototyping before it can be implemented. The image below shows how to read TRL’s to categorise the innovative ideas.
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Why?
Wave monitoring with buoys is used for offshore workability monitoring, determining design conditions for water-related structures and assessments of coastal erosion. Conventional wave buoys are advanced and robust, but also very expensive and heavy.
How?
The WaveDroid buoy is ten times cheaper as conventional buoys while maintaining similar accuracies. It uses a smartphone as easy, cheap and versatile core. The buoy is able to replace conventional buoys in roughly 85% of the situations.
When?
The WaveDroid buoy is already being applied around the world as commercial product. It is especially suited for near shore application. Further developments focus on extending this range.
Max Radermacher MSc