Marker buoys are used in marine navigation to guide vessels for course tracking,

docking maneuvers, and to avoid dangerous environmental conditions [1]. They are typically anchored in position, which reduces their flexibility and presents environmental hazards for marine life. The goal of this project is to design, build, and test an autonomous anchorless marker buoy capable of holding any desired position. The desired position’s latitude and longitude will be entered into a GPS-based positioning system, and the buoy will locate and maintain this set point using a fixed pitch propellor propulsion system [2].

References:

1. Buoys, Beacons and Marks, National Maritime College, https://maritime.college/Buoys-Beacons-and-Marks.php.
2. J. S. Carlton, Marine Propellers and Propulsion, 4th Ed., Butterworth-Heinemann, Oxford, UK, 2019.