Oceanographic instrumentation technology is currently under rapid transition towards increasingly open-source technology. Open-source buoys compete with commercial and closed-source buoys both in price, functionality and availability. Long-range radio (LoRa) is a communication technology which is inexpensive both in terms of data transfer cost and power without the need for pre-existing infrastructure. In this paper, we present OLB, an open-source drifter buoy using LoRa for coastal water measurements. OLB is designed to be reliable, low-cost, modifiable and power efficient. We present validation experiments demonstrating that OLB can achieve a radio telemetry range of more than 2 kilometres, and has an expected battery lifetime of up to seven months. Finally, we discuss the role and contribution of OLB in the space of open-source instrumentation and ocean modelling.
@article{arxiv.2601.05615,
title = {OLB: An Open Lora Buoy for Coastal Water Measurements},
author = {Lars Willas Dreyer and Andrea Pferscher and Riccardo Sieve and Jean Rabault and Atle Jensen and Einar Broch Johnsen and Gaute Hope},
journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2601.05615},
year = {2026}
}