Unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy, drifting substance monitoring system, and drifting substance monitoring method
An unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy ( 10 ) is thrown into a water area where a drifting substance is present, thereby tracking and monitoring the drifting substance. The unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy ( 10 ) detects, by a detecting section, a relative location of the drifting substance on the water surface with respect to the unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy ( 10 ), and measures, by a measuring section, directions and strengths of a wind and a tidal current. Then, the unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy ( 10 ) tracks the drifting substance by adjusting, based on the relative location of the drifting substance detected by the detecting section and on the directions and the strengths of the wind and the tidal current measured by the measuring section, a surface area and a direction of a sail ( 13 ) by an adjusting section. This achieves an unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy capable of tracking a drifting substance with small energy even when not only a tidal current but also a flow caused by a wind at the sea surface is large.
1. An unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy that is thrown into a water area where a drifting substance is present and that tracks and monitors the drifting substance,
the unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy comprising:
a detecting section that detects a relative location of the drifting substance on a water surface with respect to the unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy;
a measuring section that measures directions and strengths of a wind and a tidal current;
a sail whose surface area and direction are adjustable; and
an adjusting section that adjusts the surface area and the direction of the sail by (i) inputting, as parameters to a Look-Up Table for calculating an amount of controlling the sail, the relative location of the drifting substance detected by the detecting section and the directions and the strengths of the wind and the tidal current measured by the measuring section, and (ii) calculating the amount of controlling the sail according to the input parameters.
2. The unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy as set forth in claim 1 , wherein oceanographic and/or meteorological data is analyzed, and the oceanographic and/or meteorological data thus analyzed is transmitted to a base station.
3. A drifting substance monitoring system that utilizes the unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy as set forth in claim 1 or 2 .
4. A drifting substance monitoring method for throwing an unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy into a water area where a drifting substance is present and tracking and monitoring the drifting substance by the unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy,
the drifting substance monitoring method comprising the steps of:
detecting a relative location of the drifting substance on a water surface with respect to the unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy;
measuring directions and strengths of a wind and a tidal current;
controlling the unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy so as to track and follow the drifting substance by (i) inputting, as parameters to a Look-Up Table for calculating an amount of controlling a sail provided on the unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy, the relative location of the drifting substance thus detected and the directions and the strengths of the wind and the tidal current thus measured, (ii) calculating the amount of controlling the sail according to the input parameters, and (iii) adjusting a surface area and a direction of the sail; and
transmitting information about location of the unmanned drifting substance monitoring buoy to a base station.
5. The drifting substance monitoring method as set forth in claim 4 , wherein oceanographic and/or UM meteorological data is analyzed, and the oceanographic and/or meteorological data thus analyzed is transmitted to a base station.