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Buoy Types

WII1 through WII5 — the lineage of WII wave buoys, their sub-types, and the photos and history of each.

The WII project has gone through five major buoy generations. Earlier units were research prototypes; WII4 (Intel Edison-based) and WII5 (AVR/ESP32-based) have multiple production sub-types covering different deployment profiles.

  • WII1–WII3 — early research-prototype generations.
  • WII4 — Edison-era, with sub-types.
  • WII5 — current AVR/ESP32 generation, with sub-types.

1 - WII1 to WII3

First three generations of WII buoys — early research prototypes that laid the groundwork for the production WII4 (Edison) and WII5 (AVR) designs.
custom board.jpg our first prototype.png test bench.png

The first three WII generations were research prototypes — single-build or small-batch units that proved out the sensors, communications, and deployment patterns later productised in WII4 and WII5.

  • WII1 — the original 2012 AVR-based buoy. Modular firmware (ADC, GPS, IMU, SD, temperature) running on a custom MegaPro 3.3 V board.
  • WII2 — 2014 Scott Base build. Added the MPU9150 IMU, Kistler high-precision accelerometer, and Iridium SBD telemetry at 2–8 Hz.
  • WII3 — successor with the WatchDog AVR + Linux dashboard architecture, deployed at French Island, Port Phillip, and NIWA test sites through 2016–17.

Status: placeholder. Per-generation history, photos, and deployment notes to follow.

2 - WII4

Fourth-generation Edison-based WII buoy. Multiple sub-type variants.

The WII4 generation used the Intel Edison module as its main CPU, running Linux with a mix of C, shell, and Node code. Multiple sub-type variants were produced over its run.

  • Sub-type A — placeholder name; rename when the variant is identified.
  • Sub-type B — placeholder name; rename when the variant is identified.

2.1 - WII4 Sub-type A

Placeholder WII4 variant — rename when the variant is identified.

Placeholder for one of the WII4 variants. Photos, deployment notes, and any variant-specific differences from the main WII4 design go here.

2.2 - WII4 Sub-type B

Placeholder WII4 variant — rename when the variant is identified.

Placeholder for another WII4 variant.

3 - WII5

Current-generation WII5 buoy — AVR/ESP32 main board, multiple sub-type variants.
modern_buoy.png

The WII5 generation is the current production design: AVR/ESP32 main board running the C++ control firmware, with multiple sub-type variants for different deployment profiles.

  • Sub-type A — placeholder name; rename when the variant is identified.
  • Sub-type B — placeholder name; rename when the variant is identified.

3.1 - WII5 Sub-type A

Placeholder WII5 variant — rename when the variant is identified.

Placeholder for one of the WII5 variants. Photos, deployment notes, and any variant-specific differences from the main WII5 design go here.

3.2 - WII5 Sub-type B

Placeholder WII5 variant — rename when the variant is identified.

Placeholder for another WII5 variant.