Autonomous system for collecting water samples in buoys for Aquatic Biotechnology
Company
Aquatic Biotechnology, a company specializing in aquatic biotechnology and environmental research, focused on the manufacture of instrumentation, analysis, and study of marine environments for scientific and environmental control projects.
Challenge
Design an autonomous system capable of periodically collecting water samples in the open sea, installed on ocean buoys, without human intervention for long periods of time.
The system had to be programmable, reliable, compact, and resistant to marine environments, ensuring the correct collection of samples for subsequent analysis in the laboratory.
Problem
- Manual sample collection: Traditional methods required frequent travel and incurred high operating costs.
- Lack of temporary automation: There was no system that guaranteed accurate sample collection at defined time intervals.
- Space and power consumption limitations: The system had to be compact, low power consumption, and suitable for integration into marine buoys.
- Need for flexibility: It was essential to be able to easily configure sampling cycles according to the needs of the study.
Solution
How we do it?
Surcontrol designed and developed a complete solution based on an autonomous electronic system. An Arduino board with a touch screen was created, allowing sampling intervals to be configured directly from the device. The system controlled an automated rotating mechanism, manufactured using 3D printing, which integrated 24 tubes for sample collection.
Every hour, the rotating motor automatically positioned a new tube to fill a water sample, completing the cycle after 24 hours. The entire system was designed for direct integration into ocean buoys, ensuring robustness, accuracy, and ease of use.
Results
- Complete automation of water sample collection during 24-hour cycles.
- Significant reduction in human intervention and operating costs.
- Programmable system adaptable to different sampling intervals.
- Compact, robust design optimized for marine environments.
- Improved quality and reliability of samples analyzed in the laboratory.