Feasibility study of a Ultra-Low-Cost 3D-Printed WaveBuoy for water Wave Measurement

Feasibility study of a Ultra-Low-Cost 3D-Printed WaveBuoy for water Wave Measurement | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Feasibility study of a Ultra-Low-Cost 3D-Printed WaveBuoy for water Wave Measurement Øystein Lande, Lars Willas Dreyer, Jean rabault, Théo Krzywkowski, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-8859771/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted 11 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract This paper presents a feasibility study for producing a low-cost wave buoy system for measuring ocean waves using 3D printing technology and inertial measurement unit (IMU) data. The buoy incorporates a SparkFun OpenLog Artemis (OLA) data logger with integrated accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer sensors housed within a 3D-printed watertight hull. The custom firmware allows the use of a GPS to ensure absolute time synchronization with the UTC reference for the IMU data. The design addresses key requirements including water tightness, stability, directional independence, and cost-effectiveness. Comprehensive validation tests were conducted including sensor calibration, power consumption analysis, stability testing, and wave tank experiments. We demonstrate that the buoy is capable of accurately measuring sinusoidal wave-induced motions across a broad range of frequencies. Dedicated accelerometer calibration tests indicate a slight underestimation of acceleration amplitudes. However, this bias is not observed in the final wave tank experiments. At the highest excitation frequencies, the resonant response of the buoy results in an overestimation of the measured motion amplitudes. This behavior is consistent with theoretical expectations based on the natural (eigen) frequencies of the buoy. The total materials cost remains approximately $200, making it suitable for deployment in arrays for oceanographic research in the ocean or the wave tank. The feasibility study concludes that 3D printing technology combined with modern IMU sensors provides a viable approach to developing affordable wave measurement systems for scientific and engineering applications, both in the field and in the laboratory. wave buoy 3D printing IMU sensors ocean measurement low-cost instrumentation wave elevation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Revision Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 17 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 13 May, 2026 Reviews received at journal 19 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 12 Apr, 2026 Reviews received at journal 04 Apr, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Mar, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 26 Feb, 2026 Reviewers invited by journal 21 Feb, 2026 Editor assigned by journal 21 Feb, 2026 Submission checks completed at journal 13 Feb, 2026 First submitted to journal 12 Feb, 2026 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-8859771","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":590813769,"identity":"61faa762-6592-4a68-8ced-1193bbd5fcc9","order_by":0,"name":"Øystein Lande","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Oslo","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Øystein","middleName":"","lastName":"Lande","suffix":""},{"id":590813775,"identity":"47141f26-1b52-46af-9e8b-48682676e003","order_by":1,"name":"Lars Willas Dreyer","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"University of Oslo","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Lars","middleName":"Willas","lastName":"Dreyer","suffix":""},{"id":590813776,"identity":"9511c996-f33f-419b-adf0-f3ab77b01111","order_by":2,"name":"Jean rabault","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Norwegian Meteorological Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Jean","middleName":"","lastName":"rabault","suffix":""},{"id":590813777,"identity":"a34ac6e8-c60d-41f1-bbee-8bd0b2088bf5","order_by":3,"name":"Théo Krzywkowski","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"ENSTA | Institut Polytechnique de Paris","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Théo","middleName":"","lastName":"Krzywkowski","suffix":""},{"id":590813778,"identity":"6ee28dc2-dc39-4bcb-9ada-5119a4404e02","order_by":4,"name":"Atle Jensen","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAyUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYFAC5gYGiQogLQHECUTpYGMEajnDwMBDmhbGNqgWogD//MbGB5bztsnbSzewSTyoYMjjJ6RF4hhjs4HkttuGPTIH2CQSzjAUSzYQ0nOMsU0CqIWxRyKBTSKxjSFxwwECOuSPMbb/kJxz2554LQZAWxgkG24nEq/F8Fhis4TEsdvJPTcSmy0SzkgkziTkF7nDhw9+lqi5bds+I/ngzR8VNon9BHSAATMkShhBxhMZO4wfiFM3CkbBKBgFIxUAALa2PrN8QfApAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"University of Oslo","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Atle","middleName":"","lastName":"Jensen","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2026-02-12 08:53:30","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8859771/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8859771/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":102903597,"identity":"74346bc6-fc85-48cf-9e3a-81ba0500e435","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2026-02-18 08:42:15","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":2527033,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"Revised.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-8859771/v1_covered_37d8ea4a-3069-48c1-9c8e-dcde56bcd865.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Feasibility study of a Ultra-Low-Cost 3D-Printed WaveBuoy for water Wave Measurement","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":true,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":false,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"water-waves","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"wawa","sideBox":"Learn more about [Water Waves](https://link.springer.com/journal/42286)","snPcode":"42286","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/42286/3","title":"Water Waves","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"wave buoy, 3D printing, IMU sensors, ocean measurement, low-cost instrumentation, wave elevation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-8859771/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-8859771/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"\u003cp\u003eThis paper presents a feasibility study for producing a low-cost wave buoy system for measuring ocean waves using 3D printing technology and inertial measurement unit (IMU) data. The buoy incorporates a SparkFun OpenLog Artemis (OLA) data logger with integrated accelerometer, gyroscope, and magnetometer sensors housed within a 3D-printed watertight hull. The custom firmware allows the use of a GPS to ensure absolute time synchronization with the UTC reference for the IMU data. The design addresses key requirements including water tightness, stability, directional independence, and cost-effectiveness. Comprehensive validation tests were conducted including sensor calibration, power consumption analysis, stability testing, and wave tank experiments.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWe demonstrate that the buoy is capable of accurately measuring sinusoidal wave-induced motions across a broad range of frequencies. Dedicated accelerometer calibration tests indicate a slight underestimation of acceleration amplitudes. However, this bias is not observed in the final wave tank experiments. At the highest excitation frequencies, the resonant response of the buoy results in an overestimation of the measured motion amplitudes. This behavior is consistent with theoretical expectations based on the natural (eigen) frequencies of the buoy.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe total materials cost remains approximately $200, making it suitable for deployment in arrays for oceanographic research in the ocean or the wave tank. 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