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Wave Monitoring Buoys in Extreme Environments: SIAP+MICROS’ Winning Challenges

SIAP+MICROS began designing and industrializing meteorological and marine monitoring instruments in the late 1920s. Since then, its research and development activities have continued without interruption.

POSEID1 represents one of the most recent applications in this field. It is the platform supplied to ISPRA (Italian Institute for Environmental Protection and Research) for the Rete Ondametrica Nazionale (Italian National Wave Monitoring Network). The first unit was deployed in 2024 off the coast of the Venice Lagoon, near the Acqua Alta Oceanographic Platform (CNR-ISMAR); the first step in what is now a network distributed along the entire Italian coastline.

Validated by research institutions and designed to meet the most stringent international standards, POSEID1 integrates meteorological and marine sensors with a data processing platform capable of delivering complete parameters with high accuracy, including access to raw data. Measurements are acquired continuously, even under severe operating conditions, thanks to redundant communication systems, autonomous power supply and onboard diagnostics.

POSEID2 inherits the same technological approach, extending its applicability to more challenging environments: isolated coastal areas, limited infrastructure, and scarce or unavailable equipment. Unlike the highly customizable POSEID1, this buoy adopts a more standardized configuration designed to simplify transport and deployment. Its structure is fully modular: each component is ergonomically designed and can be handled by a single operator. The result is a smaller, lighter buoy that maintains the same principles of measurement reliability.

These features proved effective in an international tender — recently won by SIAP+MICROS — for the implementation of a monitoring network in the Indian Ocean. The project involves installations across Madagascar, Seychelles, Comoros and Mauritius: complex marine and coastal environments where the buoy’s ease of handling and the ability to transport and deploy it using limited resources were decisive in the final award.POSEID1 has demonstrated how a reliable and validated platform can become a benchmark for national monitoring networks. POSEID2 expands its application range, making previously hard-to-reach operational contexts accessible. Together, they represent two complementary solutions capable of covering a wide range of scenarios while maintaining high standards of reliability.