Custom drones

Smart Sensory Buoy Deployable by Autonomous Drones

Unique sensory buoy for water quality monitoring

Acknowledgements

The smart sensory buoy solution was developed within the Koldro project in collaboration with Eurosecur. The project was supported by the Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Czech Republic, funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation program under grant agreement No. 101071270.

Application

Smart Sensory Buoy Deployable by Autonomous Drones

Drones have gained significant popularity due to their versatility and adaptability across various industries. They are being widely used in agriculture, environmental monitoring, delivery services, and search and rescue operations. Drones have proven to be particularly valuable in tasks that demand flexibility, mobility, and the capability to operate in challenging environments.

Drones have the potential to search for and retrieve buoys from bodies of water, offering a safe and efficient alternative to traditional methods. Buoys are widely used in marine research, coastlines, and waterway maintenance for various purposes. However, retrieving buoys can be difficult and costly, particularly in remote or inaccessible locations. Traditional methods, such as using boats or divers, can be dangerous and time-consuming. UAVs provide a solution by swiftly and securely retrieving buoys without human intervention.

Drone for water monitoring

The Fly4Future smart sensory buoy.

Solution 

 Smart Sensory Buoys from Fly4Future

The Fly4Future team has developed a water-specific smart sensory buoy, deployable by autonomous drones. The optimized construction of this buoy ensures its effectiveness in different water conditions. Equipped with GNSS sensory modules and advanced computers, the buoys itself is capable of measuring water quality, temperature, and current speed. Moreover, it also cooperates by communicating vital information about its surrounding environment with the drone for seamless integration and efficient data collection and processing.

Additionally, the buoy can estimate surface currents and provide a 6D state estimation of its own body, which is essential for its capturing in harsh conditions of high waves. For that purpose it is equipped with communication capabilities for autonomous release by drones.

Overall, this buoy enables efficient water sampling, measurement, and data collection, enhancing the capabilities of autonomous UAVs in environmental monitoring and research.

F4F autonomous waterproof drone landing on a boat

The Fly4Future smart sensory buoy carried by a waterproof drone.

F4F drone distributing buoys

The buoy is equipped with a sturdy handle enabling the drone’s secure grip.

F4F drone distributing buoys

Autonomous waterproof drone approaches the buoy

F4F drone distributing buoys

The drone extracts the buoy efforlessly

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What We Do

Custom Drone Builder

Custom Drones

We custom-build ready-to-fly fully autonomous drones that can be adjusted for any application and industry.

Development and prototyping

Development & Prototyping

We design and develop advanced autonomous aerial systems to meet the particular needs of our individual clients.

Research projects

Research Projects

We participate in many projects in various fields financed by the EU and Czech Republic, as well as private research institutions.