Geolocation and Tracking of Pop-Up Buoys Using ADALM-PLUTO Software-Defined Radio on a BlueBoat Unmanned Surface Vessel

Pop-up buoys present a promising solution for obtaining diverse ocean data from stand-alone, seafloor oceanographic platforms without needing to extract them to the surface. Once these pop-up buoys have stored part of the data, they ascend to the surface with the purpose of sending fragments of data via satellite. Using a Software-Defined Radio (SDR) receiver installed on a surface vehicle to capture the GPS messages is a significant step towards the automatization of geolocating the pop-up buoys and tracking their trajectory as they drift. Here we have demonstrated their feasibility and performance in laboratory condition tests and field campaigns. In the future, the implementation of an unmanned vehicle will be crucial to locate and establish direct communication with the pop-up buoy and assemble all stored data without relying on the passage of satellites. Additionally, it could be used as an aid to localise and recover these devices, reducing the time spent in the sea by the researchers and therefore their cost.