Projects
Selected past and current projects in ocean measurement, hardware, signal processing, and software.
2025
Cooperation with SOOP
2025-09 - Service
Instruments and drifters for SOOP, an ocean data platform of the Helmholtz centres AWI, GEOMAR, and Hereon.
Scope
- Installation, service, and operation of meteorological instruments (METbox)
- Delivery, service, and support of Lagrangian drifters (HLD)
Low-plastic drifter for The Ocean Race Europe
2025-08 - Product development
Redesign of our Lagrangian drifter with substantially less plastic, first deployed in The Ocean Race Europe 2025.
Challenge, solution, result
- Challenge: Reduce the plastic used in our Lagrangian drifters.
- Solution: We redesigned and tested drifter v1 and replaced a large part of the plastic components with glass and other materials.
- Result: The drifter contains far less plastic at the same measurement quality. The Ocean Race Europe 2025 was the first customer.
Maritime awareness GUI
2025-04 - Software
Proof-of-concept for real-time visualization of oceanographic data for maritime operators.
Challenge, solution, result
- Challenge: Operators must follow complex oceanographic data for long periods without being overloaded.
- Solution: Modular layouts, interactive dashboards, and elements from game design, built with the Godot engine and a custom real-time backend.
- Result: A demonstrator we can adapt to vessel monitoring, environmental tracking, or port management.
HF antenna prototype
2025-03 - Hardware
Electrically small HF antenna for noise-limited reception, following ITU-R P.372.
Challenge, solution, result
- Challenge: Balance efficiency, electrical length, and front-end noise.
- Solution: Simulation and parametric optimization of several prototypes.
- Result: Parameters verified in the lab (field probes, Helmholtz coil, VNA).
FPGA-based SDR frontend
2025-03 - Hardware, signal processing
Real-time HF receiver frontend for spectrum monitoring from 3 to 30 MHz.
Components and outcome
- Xilinx Zynq 7000 MPSoC for DSP and ARM processing
- Custom VHDL for IQ demodulation, filtering, and decimation
- Predefined latencies met with optimized CIC and FIR filters
- Deployed in field tests
2024
Multi-sensor tracker
2024-11 - Algorithms
Fusion of asynchronous sensor data into one track estimate for a maritime surveillance system.
Method
- Time-stamped sensor fusion with Bayesian filters for irregular sampling intervals (seconds to minutes)
- Tracks with different precisions and update intervals, implemented in a functional language
Passive multistatic radar
2024-10 - Consulting, EU-funded
Signal processing algorithms for a passive radar system using signals of opportunity.
Scope and role
- Scope: We modified existing source code to improve clutter detection (STAP-like) in a multistatic setting
- Role: Technical consulting, algorithm development, support for scientific end-users