Smart electronic interface for web enabled ocean sensor systems

Abstract

The objective of the European FP7 project NeXOS (Next generation Low-Cost Multifunctional Web Enabled Ocean Sensor Systems Empowering Marine, Maritime and Fisheries Management) is to develop cost-efficient innovative and interoperable in-situ sensors deployable from multiple platforms to support the development of a truly integrated Ocean Observing System. Therefore, several sensor systems will be developed in NeXOS project for specific technologies and monitoring strategies such as: ocean passive acoustics, ocean optics, and EAF monitoring (Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries), that will provide an integrated, technologically coherent system for multi-scale, multi-parameter monitoring of the oceans. For all these sensors system, NeXOS will develop the Smart Electronic Interface for Sensors and Instruments (SEISI) which is a set of standards and functionalities to enable Web-based sharing, discovery, exchange and processing of sensor observations, and operation of sensor systems. The architecture will satisfy international standards, defined by ISO, OGC, and the INSPIRE directive, to enable integration of marine sensors with existing observing systems. The SEISI will provide a multifunctional interface for many types of current sensors and instruments as well as the new multi-parameter sensor systems, and a standard interface for existing observing systems platforms such as: cabled observatories, buoys, gliders or Ferryboxes on ship or vessel of opportunity. To achieve the compatibility with all these platforms, the sensor systems developed in NeXOS based on SEISI will be designed to accomplish two main requirements of these platforms regarding the communication bandwidth and the power consumption.