Ocean Wave Buoy Based on Parallel Six-Dimensional Accelerometer

Ocean wave parameters, including wave height, direction and period, are necessary to improve forecasts of ocean wave conditions. Their accurate observation contributes to safety of both offshore operations and military operations. However, conventional wave observation methods that combine the three-axis accelerometer-based wave sensor with the gyroscope may show problems such as inner arm error, transverse sensitivity effect, and gyroscope drift. The first two are due to non-coincidence of centroids inside the accelerometer. Such problems will reduce reliability of data. To solve the problems, a new type of parallel six-dimensional accelerometer is developed to reduce principle errors and improve stability of wave buoys. The solution features a single mass and 12-chain redundancy. When compared with the performance of high-precision sensors in the wave pool, the wave buoy based on six-dimensional accelerometer is proved to be more accurate in wave height measurement than 3.75 % × measurement value, with wave direction accuracy of ± 1°, and the wave period measurement accuracy of ± 0.1s.