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PS 26065HARDWARESmart AutomationFast Prototype (36h)

Autonomous Low-Cost Ocean Observation Platform for Polar and Southern Oceans

Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)• National Centre for Polar andOcean Research (NCPOR)
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30-Second Plain English Summary

Long-term oceanographic and climate monitoring in the harsh, storm-tossed Southern Ocean and Antarctic waters is severely limited by the high operational cost of research vessels and lack of low-cost autonomous observation platforms. Build an Autonomous Low-Cost Ocean Observation Platform (Wave/Solar powered surface drifter/glider) and digital telemetry portal for NCPOR that measures sea surface temperature, salinity, wave height, dissolved oxygen, and acoustic ambient marine noise with satellite cloud sync.

5-Dimension Strategic ScorecardOverall Score: 3.8 / 5.0
Innovation
3.9 / 5
36h Feasibility
4 / 5
Uniqueness
3.9 / 5
Jury Appeal
3.7 / 5
Tech Depth
3.4 / 5
Recommended System Architecture Pipeline
Ocean Sensor Array (CTD/IMU/Hydrophone) -> Ultra-Low Power Microcontroller -> Compressed Iridium SBD Modem -> NCPOR Ocean Data Ingestion Bus -> Global Polar Observation Console
Hardware Bill of Materials (BOM) & Cost BreakdownEstimated component unit economics in Indian Rupee (INR)
Prototype Unit Cost:₹51,650
ComponentSpecificationQtyEst. Cost
Iridium 9603N Short Burst Data (SBD) Satellite TransceiverGlobal pole-to-pole satellite uplink for telemetry in Antarctic waters with zero cellular coverage1₹18,500
Marine-Grade Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) Sensor ProbeSubsea oceanographic profiling probe with precision salinometer and thermistor1₹14,500
STM32L4 Ultra-Low-Power Oceanographic Controller ModuleSub-microamp standby sleep controller with precision RTC wakeup and GPS synchronization1₹950
Primary Lithium Thionyl Chloride (Li-SOCl2) Cold Battery Pack14.4V 38Ah non-rechargeable pack operating reliably down to -40°C for 2 full years1₹8,500
Syntactic Foam Buoyancy Hull with Iridium Helical Antenna MastPressure-resistant glass syntactic foam with self-righting hydrodynamic ballast1₹9,200
Power Input: Primary Lithium Thionyl Chloride Pack (2-Year Autonomous Polar Deployment)
Form Factor: Self-Righting Drifting Oceanographic Surface Buoy Hull
Architecture & Prototyping Strategy: Two-tier presentation strategy: (1) Hackathon MVP (~₹5k–₹8k) with ESP32 + temp/depth sensor + simulated satellite packet over LoRa; (2) Polar Ocean Buoy (~₹51.65k) with Iridium 9603 satellite modem, oceanographic CTD probe, -40°C Li-SOCl2 batteries, and syntactic foam hull.
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Official Government Problem Description
Design and develop an indigenous, low-cost, autonomous ocean observation platform capable of long-term deployment in harsh polar and Southern Ocean environments for measuring key oceanographic and atmospheric parameters.
AI & PPT Citation Format

Smart India Hackathon 2026 Problem Statement PS-26065: "Autonomous Low-Cost Ocean Observation Platform for Polar and Southern Oceans", Ministry: Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES). Strategy & Architecture via SIH ONE (https://sihone.pages.dev/ps/26065)

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