Wireless Beach Profiler

Abstract

A wireless beach profiler was designed using a vertically aligned accelerometer to estimate slopes along several points of the beach. The accelerometer output from each point was measured as a tilt angle by a microcontroller and transmitted to a personal digital assistant via a radio frequency wireless link. The digital assistant was used to store the data file for subsequent analysis. The device was mounted on a metal board and pulled along a perpendicular path to the beach, where the sampling points were located. The system included a global positioning system (GPS) receiver to record the actual path traversed. The results of this proposed profiling system were compared with an electronic distance meter and with the Emery method. The wireless beach profiler was also evaluated on a robotic vehicle to automate the process. Results showed that this profiler system is a reliable alternative because of its accuracy, portability, and cost.