OLINI| Internet on the Ocean

Project Details

The Challenge | Internet on the Ocean

The internet is not easily accessible in many areas of the world, like the Earth’s oceans. Fishermen, sailors, and others have limited data connection with the rest of the world. Although satellite internet is widely available, it is very expensive for a user to implement. Your challenge is to design a low-cost method of delivering internet to people located far away on the ocean.

MAITS

Marine automated information transfer system

OLINI

Project Organisation

In the presented task we had to find a way to present an inexpensive Internet connection in the ocean. Our decision is called MAITS (Marine automated information transfer system)

In fact, MAITS is a high-speed repeater system

Concptual representetion

The main idea of this concept is repeating high-speed Internet from shoire Internet Service Provider (ISP) to remote clients, that locates far away in the ocean.

MAITS node represented as a Buoy.

Node structure

Buoy’s materials and shape:

The cone-shaped buoy with a displaced center of gravity: displaced center of gravity keeps buoy in stable position during difficult sea weather. Main materials that we uses is the plastic and compost. Part of the moving detales is based on an epoxy matrix. During development we were aimed on three main parameters. Theese are data transfer efficiency, multifunctionality and eco-friendly.

Power source system

The buoy should work without a constant power source, that means that we need to provide effective power accumulation system. In fact module will be using 3 power accumulation source.

  • Typical way that we can construct in the ocean - to use wind generators. Common paddle wind generators no compatible with our system because of easy crash in a difficult weather conditions. Instead of that we can use Vortex Tacoma oscillatory system, as advantages we get low maintenance, simple construction, ecological clean materials. Based on the system needs, chosen model provides up to 100 watts of power
  • As additional supplying system, flexible solar panel is used, which is located along the entire plane of the contractions body. Rated output power - up to 300 W.
  • In emergency situations system has retractable power source which is built on the principle of electrolysis

Radio equipment

System is based on 5m height transmitters and a pair of 2x2 MiMo (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) antennas. First one is used to communicate between buoys, second one is sending out the internet to nearest users. That would be enough to send out signal on 10 km using 2,5 kHz frequency. To control all of these equipment, we use an LTE base station with four ports. It’s needed to use less energy, so we need to build a custom station with low power consumption processor, e.g. MIPS, ARM.

Network

Dynamically routed Mesh-system with channel bandwidth switching.

MESH network topology is used, which means connection with every nearest buoys. Network built that way, when system is catching a signal near the shore and transmit it through buoy chain. Although we have dynamic routing and link power management system, that provide stable connection and maximum link speed. So on we have the main trunk channel with highest priority and speed, and reserve links to connect buoys to each other. When information about changes inside network is arrived, topology is changing on to wide the internet channel, and the best bandwidth high-speed route is constructing on using the incoming data.

Measuring system

Although the station represents as a integrated environment eco-monitoring system. With a power architecture that have been constructed, the system provided with a set of measuring sensors:

-Salinity sensor;

-Temperature sensor;

-Chlorophyll sensor;

-Organic Solubility Sensor;

-Oxygen solubility sensor;

-A set of meteorological sensors;

-Nitrate and phosphate sensors;

-Water wave sensor;

-Partial Pressure Sensor CO2;

Our project is ecologically clean. For the first: large part of our buoy's consists of recycled plastic. This means that we can find use for large amount of slowly decaying plastic. This also will make our system cheaper. For the second: our buoys are using TMBB. This means that we can collect and visualize information about water pollution in real time.

STARLINK AND MAITS

Our project in fact is drect concurent to SpaceX's project named STARLINK - sattelite constellation. Main aim of STARLINK project is providing high-speed Internet connection throuth the World.

Looking through the project and according to our research, MAITS deployment will be at least two times cheaper than STARLINK.

To make MAITS nodes cheaper, we use Commercial on-the-shelf (COTS) technology.

Feasibility study consists of MAITS node total price:

And target audience:


Information Sources