Sea Surface Wind Speed Estimation based on USV borne System by BDS Reflectometry

Previously ship-borne GNSS-R (Global Navigation Satellite System Reflectometry) experiments have been carried out on the Kiloton scientific research vessel or above with relatively stable attitude. In this paper, we developed a GNSS-R platform based on the unmanned surface vessel(USV) for the first time, whose main functions include receiving, storing and processing BDS(BeiDou navigation satellite system) direct and reflected signal. In order to overcome the affect of rapidly changed attitude of the small ship, we designed and installed a three axis stabilizer to keep the antenna stable. Meanwhile, we made full use of the geostationary characteristics of BDS GEO satellite, and calculated the interference complex field (ICF) between the direct and reflected signal so as to estimate sea wind speed near the track of USV. The case study in Hengsha Island, Shanghai from June 9 to 11, 2019 showed that the RMS of wind speed is better than 0.50m/s by comparison with the hot-film anemometer measurement.

Key words: Wind speed; unmanned surface vessel; attitude;  BDS Reflectometry; hot-film anemometer

Acknowledgements:  This work is supported by Natural Science Foundation of Shanghai (No. 17ZR1435700), National Natural Science Foundation of China project (No. 41074019) and State Key Laboratory of Estuarine and Coastal Research, East China Normal University.