Open Buoy

Open Buoy is an Open Source, Affordable, and Accessible Buoy Device that performs Tsunami Detection and Marine Research.

Tsunamis are one of the most destructive natural disasters, leaving a trail of devastation and loss of life in their wake. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004 alone resulted in 230,000 deaths across 14 countries, while the 2011 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami claimed the lives of more than 15,000 people. With the global cost of tsunamis estimated to reach up to $40 billion in the last decade and the increasing threat of tsunamis due to rising sea levels and coastal erosion caused by climate change, the need for effective tsunami detection and warning systems is more pressing than ever.

Unfortunately, traditional buoy devices used for tsunami detection and marine research are often cost-prohibitive, making it difficult for communities to access the necessary tools to research, prepare, and respond to tsunamis. A typical DART buoy which is currently used to monitor tsunamis costs around $250,000 to deploy and $50,000 annually to maintain. These expenses make it difficult for countries, especially developing ones within the Pacific Region and the Caribbean like Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, Haiti, and Jamaica to maintain tsunami detection buoys. This problem is further exacerbated by the fact that these countries are extremely prone to natural disasters. According to the Pacific Community (SPC), Vanuatu, is among the countries with the highest risk of natural disasters in the world, with around 80% of the population living in areas prone to floods and tsunamis. 

This high cost of DART buoys limits the number of researchers and institutions that can afford to conduct marine research. According to a survey by the National Science Foundation (NSF), only 12% of marine researchers in the US own their own buoy, while the majority of researchers rely on renting or borrowing buoys to conduct their research. This puts a strain on the budget of researchers and hinders their ability to gather data and conduct more research.

This is where Open Buoy comes in, as an open-source, cost-effective buoy device designed for tsunami detection and marine research, it allows researchers to conduct local marine experimentation without the limitations of cost and configuration time, reducing purchase and maintenance expenses. Furthermore, Open Buoy can also act as an early-warning tsunami detection system, alerting coastal communities of potential tsunamis and floods using the data extracted by sensors on board coupled with advanced AI detection, making the communities safer and more resilient.

Open Buoy is an open-source, affordable, and accessible buoy device designed for tsunami detection and marine research. The buoy enables researchers to conduct local marine experimentation without the limitations of cost and configuration time, reducing purchase and maintenance expenses by $300,000! The data collected by each buoy can be easily accessed and examined by other researchers online. Additionally, Open Buoy can also act as an early-warning tsunami detection system, alerting coastal communities of potential tsunamis and floods using the data extracted by sensors on board coupled with advanced AI detection.

The buoy is equipped with four solar panels, a 18650 lipo battery, a charge controller, and a buck booster to power all the sensors. The buoy's housing is a water-tight, modular PETG 3D printed case waterproofed with epoxy. The buoy is controlled by an Arduino Nano which transmits the data collected by the on-board sensors (GPS module and GY86) via an NRF24L01 antenna. Multiple buoys can also be connected together in a mesh network, expanding the range of data extraction and tsunami coverage. Open Buoy is completely open-source allowing developers and researchers of any background to access the codebase and design of the project.

Open Buoy, serves two main groups of people: marine researchers and coastal communities.

For marine researchers, Open Buoy provides an affordable and accessible option for conducting oceanographic research and monitoring. The high cost of traditional DART buoys can make it difficult for many researchers and institutions, particularly those at smaller institutions or those working in developing countries, to afford to conduct marine research. Open Buoy addresses this need by providing a cost-effective alternative for conducting marine research, allowing more researchers and institutions to gather data and improving the diversity of marine research by creating a new method for researchers from smaller institutions or developing countries to participate.

For the 37% percent of the global population that lives near the coast, Open Buoy acts as an early-warning system for tsunamis and coastal flooding. These communities are particularly vulnerable to tsunamis due to their proximity to the ocean. A tsunami can strike with little warning, and coastal communities may not have the necessary tools and resources to detect and prepare for these disasters. This can result in a devastating loss of life and damage to infrastructure.

The effects of tsunamis and flooding can have an even more devastating impact on coastal communities residing within developing countries as there are fewer resources to purchase and maintain traditional tsunami detection devices. A whopping 95% of deaths within developing countries are caused by natural disasters according to the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR). 

Open Buoy addresses this problem by providing an affordable and accessible option for tsunami detection, allowing coastal communities to be better prepared and more resilient to natural disasters.

The idea of Open Buoy materialized in my head after having an intimate conversation with my mother about the impact of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami in Japan. My mother is Japanese and many of her relatives have passed away as a result of tsunamis, so this topic has always been a frightening and tragic topic for my family. I have lived in the South Bay beach area of Los Angeles my entire life, so the possibility of tsunamis and flooding has been a concern for my entire life. After visiting Japan earlier this year,  I decided to take matters into my own hands. In Japan, I spoke with multiple Japanese investigators and reporters about the impact of tsunamis, I was inspired to develop a solution to the problem using my background in computer science, electronics, design, and fabrication. I started programming at the age of 7, and I am 16 now.  Through the years, I rigorously learned 13 programming languages. This background has formed a foundation for me to pursue projects like Open Buoy which require intensive planning and troubleshooting from a programming perspective. I am also self-taught in hardware, design, and fabrication learning mostly from free content available on the internet such as YouTube tutorials and online communities like Hackaday, and obtaining access to resources by visiting local makerspaces, so I understand the struggle independent researchers with low funding face to pursue independent research and projects. 

Overall, I spent five months rigorously prototyping the first comprehensive version of Open Buoy. I employed my multidisciplinary skillset every step of the development process from designing the schematic outline and PCB to creating the logo and website to designing the 3D printed case and deciding on materials to assembling the device and programming the tsunami detection mechanism. Throughout the development process, I connected with a marine biology teacher and marine scientist at my school, Dijanna Figueroa to garner pertinent feedback and connect with marine organizations throughout Los Angeles. My admiration for open-source projects led me to make Open Buoy completely open-source, welcoming community contributions and making the code base and development process more accessible to researchers.

My ultimate goal for Open Buoy is to create a buoy device that is not only affordable and capable of detecting tsunamis, but also easy to assemble, recreate, and improve. This will support local researchers and community-based creators in their efforts to improve the current early-warning tsunami detection system, both in terms of cost and accessibility. With Open Buoy, coastal communities, particularly those in developing countries, will have access to a reliable and accurate early warning system, without the financial burden of traditional DART buoys, making them safer and more resilient to tsunamis and coastal flooding.

After learning about the devastating impact of the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, my mother and I decided to visit Japan to gain a deeper understanding of the issue. During our trip, we spoke with multiple researchers and investigators about the impact of tsunamis and detection systems. One key insight that emerged from these conversations was that many of the casualties resulting from the disaster were caused by a delayed evacuation due to a faulty warning system. This tragic event, which resulted from a 9.0 magnitude earthquake, killed over 18,000 people, with 90% of deaths caused by drowning. In particular, Japan's Meteorological Agency had underestimated the size of the tsunami, leaving many people along the coastline with only 15 minutes to evacuate.

To gain a visceral understanding of what it is like to experience a tsunami firsthand, I also spoke with my grandfather who resided in Tokyo during the 2011 Tōhoku event. Although he was not in the affected region at the time, his cousin, unfortunately, passed away from the event. His personal account of the trauma and emotional impact of the tsunami gave me a deeper understanding of the human cost of such disasters.

With this knowledge, I returned to Los Angeles and began brainstorming potential solutions. The idea for Open Buoy was born, and I began the prototyping process. Throughout the design process, I sought feedback from marine researchers and scientists based in Los Angeles, as well as from teachers at my school, to ensure that the device would meet the needs of the communities it aimed to serve. My design and fabrication teacher and physics teacher were able to provide me with valuable feedback on the engineering of the buoy, allowing me to refine the design and make it more effective.

DART (Deep-ocean Assessment and Reporting) buoys are the current system used today to detect tsunamis and send warnings. However, the current infrastructure of buoys established today is unreliable due to two main factors: expense and difficulty of maintenance. The average cost to deploy a buoy totals around $250,000 alongside a $50,000 maintenance cost and an additional $25,000 repair cost if the buoy malfunctions or is damaged in any way. Each buoy is designed to be functional for around four years, however, after only one-year reports have shown that 20% of buoys have become inoperable. These staggering expenses and the difficulty of maintenance have made the current buoy system unsustainable for the long-term and inaccessible to many researchers, especially those living within developing countries. 

Open Buoy solves these problems by offering an open-source buoy solution that is simple to troubleshoot and maintain which can broadcast its data globally for researchers around the world to use at a low price point of just $150. By making tsunami detection and marine research more affordable, Open Buoy improves the accessibility of marine research and early warning detection systems opening up solutions for low-income countries to implement, and anyone to conduct independent research by utilizing the global dataset collected by the buoys. 

Open Buoy is also completely open-source which opens up the contributions of researchers and developers around the world to improve the device. It also contains documentation about each step of construction (schematics, STL files, code, etc) to ease the process of troubleshooting and construction.

Our impact goals for the next year are to improve the functionality and affordability of the Open Buoy device and to increase its deployment in coastal communities.

To achieve these goals, we will focus on four key initiatives. Firstly, we will continue to iterate on the design of the Open Buoy, using new materials and testing methods to improve its water tightness and durability, as well as experimenting with different sensors and electronic components to improve the data accuracy and radio range of the device.

Secondly, we will work on developing a manufacturing and distribution plan for Open Buoy. This will include identifying the most cost-effective methods for producing the device and exploring different distribution channels to make it widely available to coastal communities.

Thirdly, we will seek to partner with multiple marine organizations in order to increase the reach and impact of Open Buoy which will also help us discover potential customer organizations. We will begin by contacting and presenting the device to local marine research centers based in Los Angeles such as ones in Catalina Island and the Southern California Marine Institute. From there, we plan to expand to national and global marine institutes using local connections such as the National Maritime Research Institute in Japan. 

Finally, we will work to deploy 50 Open Buoys throughout the Los Angeles coastline, under research constraints. This will allow us to gather data and test the effectiveness of the Open Buoy in real-world conditions. We also plan to partner with researchers abroad and give them access to data we collect and send out buoys to be tested abroad using funds provided for testing and implementation.

The core technology that powers Open Buoy is geospatial technology which is utilized to capture, store, and analyze pertinent geographical marine data essential to the device’s accurate detection of tsunamis and research data collection. 

Geospatial technology is used in Open Buoy to gather data from sensors on board, such as GPS and GY86, which are used to track the buoy's location and movements in the ocean. This data is then used to create a map of the ocean's movements and changes in wave telemetry, which can be used to detect potential tsunamis and flooding.

Additionally, geospatial technology is used to connect multiple buoys together using a mesh network created by the NRF24L01 antennas onboard each buoy, increasing the range of data extraction and tsunami coverage. This allows for a more comprehensive view of the ocean, providing early warning for the coastal communities in the region.

Lastly, Open Buoy uploads the data containing geospatial marine data collected by the buoys to a database online which is then displayed on a full-stack web application developed using Next.js for other researchers to access and examine. This allows researchers from around the world to access the data and use it for their own research and analysis. Once the data is uploaded, it is fed through an artificial intelligence model called a convolutional neural network in order to confirm the status of a potential tsunami. 

The number of people Open Buoy will serve is currently being determined. After refining our current version of the prototype, we will reach out to local marine research centers in Los Angeles in order to establish pilot test sites for researchers to use the buoy. The impact of developing a significantly cheaper, open-sourced, and more effective tsunami detection buoy could affect thousands to millions of lives, especially those living in impoverished coastal communities. Moreover, Open Buoy has the potential to impact thousands of researchers around the world by making marine research tools more accessible and by providing a buoy solution that is easy to construct and troubleshoot.

Some hurdles Open Buoy might have to overcome in the upcoming year include financial and technical barriers.

Since we are planning to deploy test buoys to the coast of Los Angeles once prototyping is complete, our first possible barrier might be financing the cost of purchasing the initial round of test buoys. This could be overcome with the support of grants, organizations, and researchers interested in supporting this project. 

Secondly, a possible technical barrier could exist in regard to finding an optimized logistics, manufacturing, and assembly process. Since we want Open Buoy to be as affordable and accessible as possible, we will need to determine which sensors and manufacturers to use in order to optimize costs and build time.

UCLA Human-Computer Interaction Lab: Currently working with researchers based in UCLA's Human-Computer Interaction laboratory in order to understand the interfacing between humans and computational systems such as Open Buoy. I am also investigating multiple artificial intelligence models in the lab which I have applied to Open Buoy's neural network detection system for tsunamis.

National Marine Educators Association: I am currently working alongside members of the NMEA organization to obtain feedback on prototyping, manufacturing, testing, and developing connections with local marine research institutes based in the coast of Los Angeles.

Due to Open Buoy currently being in active development, our business model has not been completely finalized. However, we plan for our business model to contain the following sections: 

1. Cost Optimization and Logistics:

We plan to optimize the costs of the materials and sensors used to construct the Open Buoy by determining the most streamlined supply chain method and purchasing high-quality sensors for the best deal in order to reduce the overall price of the product.

2. Possible Customers:

Possible customers of the product would be independent researchers and marine institutions that are looking to find a buoy solution to conduct independent marine research as well as coastal marine centers that want to conduct tsunami detection.

3. Expense Analysis:

Website hosting for buoy data and information, cost of buoy materials and shipping, product testing, and hiring are all possible expenses.

4. Marine Outreach:

Reaching out and contacting local marine research centers will be a critical part of our initial piloting phase and revenue model. 

5. Revenue Strategy:

Selling physical buoys to marine centers, researchers, developers, and interested hobbyists will be our main source of revenue. We could also sell more robust buoy add-ons that include more measurements and sensors for a higher price. 

6. Partnerships with Organizations:

Partnerships with marine organizations such as the Ocean Conservation Society, International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, and possibly the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would be key to sustain opportunities and possible sources of revenue for Open Buoy

We will actively seek out funding opportunities through donations and grants from marine research organizations, as well as revenue generated from the sale of our Open Buoy devices to other organizations and businesses. Additionally, we will explore the potential for service contracts with government entities, particularly the U.S. government, as a means of securing funding for future developments of Open Buoy.

As Open Buoy continues to grow, we will expand our offerings to include additional services and products, which will increase our revenue streams and establish a strong financial foundation for long-term sustainability.