COST-EFFECTIVE SENSORS, INTEROPERABLE WITH INTERNATIONAL EXISTING OCEAN OBSERVING SYSTEMS, TO MEET EU POLICIES REQUIREMENTS

Final Report Summary - COMMON SENSE (COST-EFFECTIVE SENSORS, INTEROPERABLE WITH INTERNATIONAL EXISTING OCEAN OBSERVING SYSTEMS, TO MEET EU POLICIES REQUIREMENTS)

Executive Summary:
The COMMON SENSE project supports the implementation of European Union marine policies such as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). The project, which was launched in November 2013, is funded by the EC Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) and has been designed to directly respond to requests for integrated and effective data acquisition systems by developing innovative sensors that will contribute to our understanding of how the marine environment functions. COMMON SENSE is coordinated by the LEITAT Technological Center, Spain, and its consortium brings together 15 partners from seven different countries, encompassing a wide range of technical expertise and know-how in the marine monitoring area.

Sensors developed by the COMMON SENSE project contribute towards increasing the availability of standardised data on: eutrophication; concentrations of heavy metals; micro plastic fraction within marine litter; underwater noise; and other parameters such as temperature, pH, pCO2 and pressure. These cost-effective sensors directly respond to current marine monitoring challenges and will be a key tool for EU Member States in meeting their MSFD requirements and achieving Good Environmental Status (GES) of their marine territories.

The focus was not only on the development of innovative sensors. One topic of interest was to provide standardised and interoperable data with existing international observing systems. To meet this objective, a smart sensor unit (SSU), with different connection interfaces (NMEA based) and the ability to provide power to sensors systems was developed, alongside one sensor platform (CSWP) for data visualization and accessing were also developed.

The progress achieved by the project partners is impressive, with the majority of the sensors moving from a technology readiness level (TRL) of 2-3 up to 6-7, with one sensor now at TRL 8 – the MISS (MIni Seawater Sampling). While commercialisation of these sensors is beyond the scope of the project, interested stakeholders are welcomed and encouraged to engage with COMMON SENSE partners to ensure the sensors are brought to market. In many cases, partners have committed to continuing the work of COMMON SENSE to do so.

Several different resources are available to stakeholders, which will allow them to understand exactly what the knowledge is, and how it could be applicable to them. From an industrial point of view, sensor profiles were developed as technical briefs, outlining the technical specifications and highlights of each sensor. These are available to download from the COMMON SENSE website’s media section (1) . Also, the project carried out a feasibility analysis and has outlined manufacturing procedures for each sensor, providing in-depth information on how the sensors can be reproduced and brought to the market.

A project video was also created, which quickly explains the project and its relevance to marine monitoring policies across Europe, using a mixture of real footage and animations. The video is available to view online on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/201643243 or through the COMMON SENSE website.

(1) www.commonsenseproject.eu/media/sensor-profiles

Project Context and Objectives:
Marine knowledge is essential from two different points of view. On one hand, marine activities are related to knowledge of physical, chemical, environmental and biological water properties. This is evident in activities like fisheries, aquaculture, marine biotechnology and renewable energy. On the other hand, knowledge is a necessary tool to forecast environmental risks. The strength lies in the combination of the observation systems (remote sensing, in situ observations and modelling) and the integration of monitoring strategies on a European scale as a powerful insight and forecast tool. COMMON SENSE believes that the implementation of integrated monitoring systems will not only benefit the instruments and services providers, but also provide valuable societal benefits, generating a large macro-economic effect and promoting the creation of new job opportunities related to the project results.

The consortium behind the COMMON SENSE project, with the full title: “Cost-effective sensors, interoperable with international existing ocean observing systems, to meet EU policies requirements” wanted to convince and inspire companies, stakeholders and policy makers by demonstrating the feasibility, functionality and deployment of cost-effective systems in order to improve data acquisition procedures, providing standardized and interoperable data, which is one of the premises for incoming monitoring programmes.

For the EU, marine monitoring and achieving GES, are two of the main priorities as indicated by the following:
• First Environment Action program, based on the ideas that prevention is better than cure, adopted by EU in 1972.

• Environment and Consumer Protection Service and a Standing Committee on the Environment set up in 1973.

• 7th Environment Action Programme

• MSFD adopted on June 2008. Three working groups were created
• Data, Information and Knowledge Exchange
• Good Environmental Status
• Economic and Social Assessment

• Regional Sea Conventions (90s)

• And others (Water Framework Directive, Common Fisheries Policy, Habitats and birds Directives)

• Several initiatives
• Copernicus Programme - Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service
• EMODnet

This importance is also reflected by extensive policy, such as aforementioned MSFD, as well as the Water Framework Directive (WFD) or the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), observation systems (Copernicus or EMODnet) and an R & D program under FP7 Oceans of Tomorrow which was continued within the EC HORIZON 2020 funding programme.

For the EU, the development of cost-effective solutions for marine monitoring and improving current data acquisition and data exchange mechanisms with observing systems are real opportunities as mechanisms to reach (and keep) GES as requested by MSFD.

The COMMON SENSE project contributes to supporting the implementation of the MSFD, and other EU policies such as the CFP and the Maritime Integrated Policy- These help provide robust, cost-effective, multi-functional new sensors, which are easily accessible across several platforms, in order to detect different reliable in-situ measurements on key parameters on GES of marine waters by means of methodological standards. It focuses on increasing availability of standardized data on eutrophication, marine litter, contaminants, underwater noise and other parameters (e.g. temperature, pressure, pH and pCO2) according to MSFD descriptors 5, 8, 10 and 11.1

The mentioned specific sensors, developed onto modular systems, are integrated into multifunctional packages. Moreover, innovative transversal sensors (temperature, pressure, pH and pCO2,) based on cost effective “new generation” technologies for the continuous monitoring of water parameters have been developed. The integration of these transversal sensors provides variables measurement with a reference frame (time, position, depth, temperature, etc.). To ensure the performance of the micro and nanosensors developed, a special effort has been done to study the design and development of nanocomposite films for future cost-effective sensors.

Sensor networks are currently collecting a great amount of environmental data, and technologies are progressively becoming more and more efficient and cheaper. The Common Sensor Web Platform (CSWP) aims at bringing a more sophisticated view of the environment, implementing the Sensor Web Enablement standards and optimising data acquisition, indexing, access and interoperability. It feeds the data collected by the COMMON SENSE sensors into international initiatives, notably the Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) and the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS), without any restrictions on discovery, access, or use. In addition, through collaboration with the other projects funded under topic 2 of the FP7-OCEAN-2013 call, it contributes to the establishment and implementation of common methodologies and standards for data archiving, discovery, and access within the GEOSS framework.

The sensors developed are interoperable with existing and new observing systems and they are field tested by means of autonomous platforms and opportunity vessels.

The following objectives were defined and achieved:
- To create a solid and robust basis for finding cheaper and innovative ways of gathering data.

- To develop cost-effective sensors suitable for large-scale production, reducing costs of data collection (compared to commercially available sensors), increasing data access availability.

- To design and develop microcomposite and nanocomposite films aimed at the realization of cost-effective sensor for pH-sending.

- To develop precompetitive prototypes for the detection of nutrient analyses using well established colorimetric chemistries for phosphate, ammonia, nitrate and nitrite.

- To design, develop and validate a marine litter sensor able to measure and quantify the surface concentration of microplastics off-shore.

- To develop a precompetitive fully functional prototype of a bespoke acoustic sensor pod to be integrated in platforms as diverse as Smartbuoys (where it may be integrated with other ocean sensors) as well as mobile platforms such as gliders.

- To integrate the innovative specific sensors for the descriptors developed within the project onto modular systems easily adaptable to the monitoring requirements and different deployment platforms depicted in the project.

- To deploy and to test sensor multifunctional packages using floating devices, buoys, platforms and ships, under different sea conditions at key places.

- To test the operability of sensors following the methodology developed.

- To optimise the design and performance of precompetitive prototypes.

- To verify that sensors deployed do not interfere with daily professional activities and adjust their compatibility.

- To verify the transmission of data is properly made and correct deviations.

- To implement the Common Sensor Web Platform (CSWP).

- To achieve real technology transfer and to help in the reduction of the cost of data collection system in support of fisheries management.

Overall the following main objectives were successfully achieved with very minor deviations:
- To develop a sensor module for automatic detection of low concentrations of heavy metals in seawater, which can be integrated into off-shore platforms comprising other sensors

Sensor for simultaneous detection of Pb and Cd, and independent Cu and Hg has been developed. However, we did not achieve the simultaneous detection of all of them.

- To develop and integrate innovative transversal sensors for temperature and pressure measurements based on cost effective “new generation” technologies for the continuous monitoring of water parameters.
Pressure sensor was partially developed, but due project evolution was decided to focus all efforts on the development of temperature sensor, in order to improve sensing technology and material characterization.

- To develop nanosensors for autonomous pH and pCO2 measurements.
Although the sensors have been proved functional, they are not working on autonomous mode. Electronics for signal condition, and data storage and transmission are required to be fully operating or tested on unattended real condition

The results of the COMMON SENSE project can be used to increase knowledge of the marine environment and access to related data, allowing strategic decisions to be taken in marine protection and conservation. It will also help to support EU policies (MSFD / CFP) by providing multifunctional, innovative and cost-effective sensors that are easy to use across a range of platforms to detect reliable measurements on key parameters by means of methodological standards which interoperate with existing or incoming international observing services.
Furthermore to individual project objectives and results, a set of coordinated actions within projects funded by the Oceans of Tomorrow call was held where the main objective is to potentiate results coming from calls 2013.1 & 2013.2. It includes face-to-face meetings, interoperability among developments, establishment of working groups on different areas or common dissemination activities such as was held on Oceanology International 2016.

All COMMON SENSE resources are available to download from the COMMON SENSE website: www.commonsenseproject.eu or the project coordinator Sergio Martinez of LEITAT (smartineznavas@leitat.org).
Project Results:
The COMMON SENSE project has developed 7 innovative sensors, one sampling system (MISS), one data aggregator and collector unit, named Smart Sensor Unit (SSU) and the Common Sensor Web Platform (CSWP). Furthermore, 44 deliverables have been produced, 21 of them publicly available.

The work done can be divided as follows:
1) Framework study
2) Technical developments
3) Field testing

Framework study:
This section is also composed of 2 components:
1. Current and comprehensive understanding of in-situ ocean observing systems and EU legislation.
This activity is devoted to:
1) Analyze the legal and regulatory landscape to ensure the level of current monitoring efforts address MSFD needs effectively. Special attention was given on obtaining up-to-date current and comprehensive understanding in relation to marine monitoring focused on eutrophication, marine litter (surface/water column litter and microlitter), contaminants and noise.

2) Be aware of existing gaps in current monitoring and to identify emerging monitoring needs.

3) Analyze needs and requirements for interoperability with existing observing systems and to assess the possibility to meet other legislation monitoring requirements.

A comprehensive document was produced with information on current monitoring procedures and methodologies including specific information on existing monitoring practices, available methodologies, methods and monitoring patterns, relevant legislative framework and/or other relevant information. There were identified barriers and solutions in order to provide the reader with a comprehensive understanding of the gaps and the lack of information that currently constitute barriers to be overcome for the implementation of the MSFD. This information has been structured per regional seas including Baltic, North and Mediterranean.

The inventory on the legal and regulatory levels was provided of regulations, directive and conventions having potential influence on sensors design, measurement and monitoring methodologies development having potential influence on sensor design processes.

The inventories on observing systems and hardware levels were done, relevant to COMMON SENSE objectives: of previous and current EU funded projects; detailed description and examples of Marine Research Infrastructure – research platforms, marine data systems, research sites and laboratories with respect of four MSFD descriptors relevant to COMMON SENSE project; detailed description of two world-wide observation networks and systems.

Work planned in this activity was fully completed and reported in four public deliverables:

a) In the report D1.1 a thorough review and analysis were presented on the methodological standards included in the European and international conventions that are in line with the MSFD descriptors’ requirements; analyses on good and bad practices and experiences of the established methodologies in terms of monitoring criteria and methodological standards.

b) In D1.2 the analyses – narrowed to selected set of descriptors addressed in MSFD: eutrophication, microplastics, contaminants and underwater noise – were performed to recognize up-to-date monitoring and progress achieved in the Member States to identify non-adequate monitoring efforts, existing gaps and emerging monitoring needs.

c) D1.3 covers perspectives and possibilities of integration of monitoring requirements by other EU and national legislations, directives and conventions having potential influence on sensors design, measurement and monitoring methodologies development. This directly addressed the COMMON SENSE WPs on design and development with perspectives of integration of developed sensor's functionality to meet monitoring requirements.

d) D1.4 presents the review of existing operating observing systems and sensors, giving a practical guidance for the target systems that are available and capable to accommodate and integrate developed sensors: hardware and software.

2. Integrated basis for cost-effective sensors development
This activity is devoted to:
1) Obtain a comprehensive understanding and an up-to-date state of the art of existing sensors and Physical supports/Platforms.

2) Provide a working basis on “new generation” technologies in order to develop cost-effective sensors suitable for large-scale production.

3) Identify requirements for compatibility with standard requirements as the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the INSPIRE directive, the GMES/COPERNICUS and GOOS/GEOSS.

This activity was fully completed and all the targeted objectives were met. Four public deliverables were completed. These deliverables provided a solid foundation and framework for the technical sensor development work and deployment/trials planning for the project, which was, in essence, the function of WP2. This information is publicly available to be used as a reference or consultation by the community.

Of these deliverables, D2.1 was the most significant, which consists of an analysis of the state-of-the-art solutions for the different sensors and data platforms related to the COMMON SENSE project. An analysis of relevant technical issues and deficiencies of existing sensors and related initiatives currently set and working in marine environment was performed. The consortium was primarily concerned with next generation technologies for achieving miniature, portable, cost-effective in-situ sensors which are applicable to large scale production.
The objectives of deliverable 2.1 were to create a solid and robust basis for finding cheaper and innovative ways of gathering data. This was preparatory for the Transversal Sensor development and Sensor Integration, to develop novel and cost-effective sensors suitable for large-scale, production, reducing costs of data collection (compared to commercially available sensors), increasing data access availability, and for Field testing when the deployment of new sensors will be drawn and then realized.

Following the most significant results compiled by UCC and CNR:
A detailed and comprehensive review document was produced, providing a framework for the technical sensor work packages to build on. 3 journal publications were developed following this work.

OGC Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) standards were adopted and the 52°North implementation was used as the basis for the development of the CSWP.

Significant information was developed to define architectures, plan integration and develop testing strategies

A comprehensive database of testing platforms available to the consortium was developed, crucial information for field testing. Moreover, this information was subsequently shared with the other OCEANS consortia – SenseOcean/neXOS/ScHema

Technical developments
1. Common Sensor Web Platform (CSWP)
The main objective of COMMON SENSE WP3 was to design and implement the CSWP for connecting, processing, storing, managing and sharing sensor data using standards and best practices to facilitate interoperability to external systems such as GEOSS. The field of Sensor Web research is a key part of the platform. A Sensor Web aims to connect sensors to the Web making sensor data available to various downstream applications. This leads to three main architectural layers. Firstly, the sensor layer consists of the actual hardware devices and the various kinds of communication protocols. Secondly, the intermediary Sensor Web layer acts as a middleware and provides functionality to bridge between sensors and applications. Finally, the application layer is where direct interaction with clients (human end users or computers) takes place.

For the Sensor Web layer, the Web Platform adopted OGC’s Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) standards. The SWE initiative has defined, prototyped and tested a suite of standardised web service interfaces and encodings that enable: discovery of sensors, processes, and observations; tasking of sensors or models; access to observations and observation streams; publish-subscribe capabilities for alerts; and robust sensor system and process descriptions. A key component of SWE used by the Web Platform is the OGC Sensor Observation Service (SOS) standard. This provides a standardised interface for managing and retrieving sensor metadata and observations from heterogeneous sensor systems. This standard also incorporates the Observations & Measurements (O&M) standard for encoding sensor observations and SensorML for encoding sensor metadata. The open source 52°North implementation of SOS 2.0 was deployed by the Web Platform coupled with a PostgreSQL/PostGIS database for storing the data and metadata.

In terms of enabling data flow from the sensor devices to the Web Platform, a sensor must be first registered in the platform. In this case, the platform administrator uploads a SensorML 2.0 document to the SOS server. Each registered SensorML document has a unique identifier. The SensorML documents are constructed offline and based on the information provided by the sensor developers. Once the sensor device is registered, data can be uploaded to the SOS server and its backend database.

Data upload is achieved in several ways, to support various use cases. For sensor devices that connect to the SSU, data is uploaded to the Web Platform gateway using the NMEA data format. In the gateway, the NMEA data is automatically processed and transformed into the O&M data format, and pushed into the SOS server and its backend database. The O&M document contains a reference to the previously registered SensorML using the same unique identifier.

Two upload options are supported from the SSU:
The first is for offline data upload. Here data is logged and stored on the SSU. This data can then be downloaded onto a USB key, etc. and then subsequently bulk uploaded to the Web Platform using a computer connected to the Internet.

The second option is a real-time data stream. In this use case, the SSU is directly connected to the Internet and it sends data to the Web Platform gateway using the NMEA data format in real-time. Wireless communication using an LTE transmitter modem and a LTE receiver modem were used to test real-time data streaming.

Finally, another upload option is supported for sensor devices not connected to the SSU and who do not support the NMEA format. In this case, other data formats can still be processed and transformed into O&M on the platform gateway, and pushed into the SOS server and its backend database. To support the transformation of the NMEA data format and other types of Comma Separated Values (CSV) into O&M, a transformation tool was developed in Python. The script is extendable by adding a new data handler per sensor device. This is mainly done via configuration where the input data values are mapped to the corresponding fields in the O&M template. In real-time streaming mode, the transformation tool continually waits for new data, and then transforms and uploads.

A portal was also setup so users can visualise and access data uploaded to the Web Platform, and to test that the data flow from the sensor to the platform is working as expected. A web mapping viewer was deployed to plot sensor locations. This is built using OpenLayers and GeoServer, and uses the Web Map Service (WMS) standard. In addition, an online and interactive plotting tool to visualise the actual sensor data as graphs was developed in HTML and JavaScript technologies, including the Highcharts library. A visualisation preparation tool was developed in Python to pre-generate these plots. The tool first downloads data from the SOS server in the O&M data format, and subsequently generates the plots. The HTML document output can be viewed online by users within web browsers.

Another component of the Web Platform is sensor data discovery. This is the process of browsing and/or searching for data and services documented in one or more catalogues. Data and service discovery relies on metadata that document these existing resources. A Semantic Web Service (SWS) has been developed by University College Cork in previous research projects and was adopted for use in the COMMON SENSE project. It is a high-level web interface for querying SKOS thesauri and vocabularies.

This semantic framework is coupled with OGC Sensor Instance Registry (SIR) to support sensor data discovery. The semantic framework facilitates improved sensor data discovery by exploiting semantic relationships between terms to improve keyword search. This is achieved through the use of controlled vocabulary terms from ontologies for inclusion in SensorML and O&M. The semantic framework allows multi-faceted search and browsing of the available data and services. It builds on existing vocabulary services, and in particular the SKOS concepts defined in NERC Vocabulary Server (NVS) which is used by SeaDataNet. Sample ontology content based on NVS has been tested, replicating relevant NVS concepts and semantic relations. SIR is less mature than the SOS standard. In fact, it should be better aligned to other existing SWE services. For example, SIR sensor discovery functionality might be realised by aligning to the SOS specification. Another challenge is the semantic enablement of SWE specifications and the incorporation into the OGC standardisation process.

Finally, ongoing international data harmonisation work is involved with fine tuning the technical implementation details of standards such as SOS. Global and pan-European governance is required to find consensus regarding clear implementation guidelines and practical examples. The overarching structure of the current generation of the SOS standard with the supporting O&M data model and the SensorML metadata model are mature. However, the structure is extensive and flexible, enabling the description of diverse sensors and sensor data in different domains ranging from the environment to medical, etc., and also at different scales ranging from small sensor components to full sensor systems and sensor workflows. Therefore, specific profiles and use cases specific to a discipline or application are required at the syntaxical and semantic levels of interoperability. The various EC funded Oceans of Tomorrow projects, which COMMON SENSE was a part of, has helped the formation of a SWE Marine Profiles group, which is contributing to emerging marine community SWE profiles.

2. Smart Sensor Unit (SSU)
The integration of sensing devices into a powerful array of sensors is a key technology for the realization of far-reaching observation approaches. The SSU was designed according to the recommendations outcoming from activity “Integrated basis for cost-effective sensors development” by SubCtech. It has a modular design and can integrate a large number of sensors and devices. For this project, the SSU provides interfaces for 7 different sensors.

Data was transferred from the sensors to the SSU. Also, signals can also be sent from the SSU to the sensors (e.g. transfer of GPS data). The SSU also provides a set of different power levels for the sensors. All basic parameters had been discussed and verified within the COMMON SENSE consortium. Communication between the sensors and the SSU and the router are realized by using the NMEA 0183 protocol.

SubCtech designed two prototypes for the SSU:
SSU-1 (also called SubSea SSU) had been designed for under water operations. The chosen housing enables a safe operation up to 2000m. Depth up to 6000m would be also possible to manufacture.
SSU-2 (also called DeckUnit) had been designed for deployments in water protected environments (such as land based stations or ship laboratories).

The SSUs were optimized to address low-power consumption, easy maintenance, extreme robustness and offshore/underwater deployments. The SSU consists of the controller board and the sensor board. The SSU is powered by an external power supply (typically 230V). The SSU provides power to multiple sensors. Data and power connections are realized by using waterproof SubConn connectors. Further technical descriptions were published within different reports generated in COMMON SENSE project, specifically D3.2 and D4.3

3. Sensors
3.1 Transversal sensors
3.1.1 Temperature sensor
Sea water temperature is an essential ocean variable (EOV) being both the earliest and most widely measured property of sea water, according to the classical oceanographic literature. In addition to its role on the ocean dynamics through its contribution to the water density, temperature is involved in almost all oceanic processes, including those relevant for living organisms. In particular, the sea temperature is one of the central variables to diagnose climate change, assess heat and mass budgets and becoming a key factor on air-sea exchanges, most of the global water cycle and oceanic heat storage and release. A precision of 0.01 degrees is needed.

Nowadays, many techniques and devices for measuring temperature exist. One widely exploited possibility to register the surface temperature of an object or a medium is by direct-contact measurement with a thermistor or a thermocouple. These strategies give highly accurate measurements but they require a high number of calibration points for different temperature ranges. In addition, the aforementioned and other related techniques do have value in certain context but do not permit low-cost and large-area precision mappings. In this context, organic materials, which have already shown a huge potential in a wide range of electronic applications, exhibit promising expectations when integrated into sensing systems. Organic/polymeric materials that are produced at room temperature and without need of sophisticated machinery have also very low mass which make them very suitable for fast and precise temperature measurements. The aim in COMMON SENSE was to develop small size, low cost and low energy consumption temperature sensors based on “all organic” sensing material.

The development can be divided in three steps:
Material development:
The material consists of nanostructured organic conducting crystals on polymeric surfaces. The preparation of the material is performed using wet chemistry in a normal chemical laboratory and with cheap chemicals. Temperature sensitive BL films containing a polycrystalline conducting layer of sub/microcrystals of the halogen salts of the BEDTTTF (bisethylenedithiotetrathiafulvalene) were prepared in a single-stage procedure from a casted thin film (10-25 µm in thickness) of a solid solution of neutral BEDT-TTF (3%) completely dispersed in polycarbonate. The temperature dependence of the conductivity of different BL films containing a polycrystalline conducting layer of sub/microcrystals of ionic radical salts (IRS) of BEDT-TTF with different halogens as counter ion was studied to choose the one with better properties. According to the Temperature Coefficient of Resistivity (TCR), we have chosen the film based on α’-(BEDT-TTF)2IxBr3- for the preparation of the sensors since it has the highest variation of the conductivity with the temperature (TCR = - 1,27 %/deg).
Material testing in front of a commercial temperature sensor.
A testing prototype was developed using BL films with the α’-(BEDT-TTF)2IxBr3 crystals. The electrical properties of this BL film sample (with active sensing area of L = 4 and W = 2 mm, length and width, respectively) versus temperature were determined with the film in a plastic holder that includes a commercial Pt1000 temperature sensor (Pt1000. With active area of 2.0x10 mm2) in the other side as a reference. The electrical resistance was measured with a Keithley 2400 SourceMeter. The thermometer was inserted into a glass tube that in turn was inserted in a glass containing water that was cooled and heated. Simultaneous water temperature monitoring by the prepared prototype in the temperature region from 27.5 ºC to 31 ºC was performed over nine days, the data variation was always the same as that of the Pt thermometer. The first-order temperature coefficient of resistance (k= DR/DT) was 3.85 Ω/deg for the Pt sensor and 224 Ω/deg for the BL film, demonstrating that the newly developed organic sensor is almost two orders of magnitude more sensitive to the temperature than the commercial Pt thermometer.
Prototypes of sensors to measure sea water.
First prototype. Developed by NANOMOL-CSIC. The container was a stainless tube 5 mm in diameter and 30 cm in length. The sensitive BL film element was placed inside of this tube as close as possible to one of its ends and four contacts on the film were attached to a connector at the other end of the tube that was connected to a PCB developed by UCC. The tests results in sea water with a special thermostatic container at ICM-CSIC laboratory were very good in terms of sensitivity, linearity, reproducibility and reversibility.
Second prototype. A second prototype of much smaller size was developed at NANOMOL-CSIC. The container was a very thin copper cover of around 1 cm2 in area and connected to the above-mentioned PCB. Tests in laboratory were successful. Tests in Oceania cruise (by ICM-CSIC) indicate a good sensitivity response, as compared with a reference CTD, but contacts, housing and sealing against water leaking were not robust enough.
Third prototype. This was designed by NANOMOL (CSIC) and installed in a robust housing, designed by ICM (CSIC), made with marine brass to allow a good thermal conductivity and avoid water leakage. The piece was screwed in an adapted PVC tube to protect connections and cables or directly screwed to a buoy. Tests in laboratory were satisfactory. The whole system has shown good sensitivity, linear response and quite good accuracy. A new hardware with an Arduino compatible USB interface was designed by UCC. The small test board consisted of an ADC with serial communication over RS232. This board could be used when the SubCtech SSU was not available to test. The new interface PCB takes 0 to 10V input from the sensor and converts it into a digital bit stream which can be received on PC via serial RS232. An autonomous buoy with radio telemetry, able to hold sensors was designed by ICM (CSIC) and tested with the newly developed temperature sensor. All the developments above were tested at sea in two separate deployments: Oristano lagoons (September 2016) and in Barcelona (January 2017). Tests in Oristano were made using the PCB developed by UCC integrated with the sensor into a plastic housing. In Barcelona the sensor with the tube and in the buoy was integrated with the SSU unit.
The developed nano-composite sensing material is can sense, either in a direct-contact or a non-contact way, changes of temperature in a fast and reversible manner with a sensitivity that is two orders of magnitude larger than most commonly used metal (or alloys) based temperature sensors and some non-contact devices. In addition, this material exhibits the properties of polymers - being elastic, lightweight and has a simplicity of processing. The new organic semiconductor sensing material is produced at very low cost and with very low power consumption (1- 5 mW) achieving a resolution of 0.001 ºC and an accuracy of 0.005 ºC. This low consumption
is very suitable for measurements in remote locations or buoys.

The complete sensor consisting of the sensing material, holder and electronics works well although does not fulfil the aim of having a small size due to problems with the sensor container and the needed electronic contacts. Nevertheless, the sensor has been successfully integrated onto a modular system easily adaptable to the monitoring requirements and different deployment platforms depicted in the project.

3.1.2 pH and pCO2 sensor
Ocean acidification is a pressing environmental problem that has gained widespread recognition as an early manifestation of coastal climate change. Nanostructured conducting polymers presenting high surface area, small dimensions, and unique physical properties have been widely used to build chemical sensors with enhanced sensitivity and the possibility to conveniently integrate them into electrical circuitry.
In this context, microcomposite and nanocomposite films aimed at the realization of cost-effective sensors for pH and pCO2 sensing, based on polyaniline (PANI) and carbon nanostructures, were produced. Two approaches were followed, one based on resistive sensors produced with electropolymerized PANI and self-made carbon nanoparticles, the second based on voltammetric measurements and the combination of commercial materials.

Voltammetric sensors were produced by drop casting of a PANI solution containing carbon nanotubes onto a screen printed carbon electrode. Number of nanoparticles, solution concentration and deposition parameters were adjusted and their influence on sensing was analyzed.

Sensors based on 3 wt% of carboxyl-modified MWCNT in PANI were successfully calibrated and tested, first in model solutions and then in real seawater samples. The sensor performances were compared to that of a commercial (glass electrode) pH-meter, showing a good agreement. In optimal conditions the repeatability of the sensor was estimated to be 0.1 pH units, while reproducibility was 0.2 pH units. The system developed for pH can be adapted for pCO2 measurement by implementation of a contact cell, where seawater and a buffer carbonate solution are equilibrated through a permeable polymeric membrane.

The sensing unit proposed is very cheap, being produced starting from a carbon/silver screen printed electrode modified with an extremely low amount of active material. Electrodes are small and robust and suitable to be integrated in miniaturized fluidic devices.

The measurements recorded demonstrate a high electroactivity of PANI at pH ≥ 6, unusual for this polymer, induced by the interaction with the carbon structures that stabilize the “doped” state of polyaniline.

3.2 Eutrophication sensor
Nutrients such as phosphate, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate are central in many environmental processes within the marine environment, including several microbial, plant and animal metabolic processes. The COMMON SENSE nutrient sensor was developed under WP 5 and is based on a combination of microfluidic analytical systems, colorimetric reagent chemistry, low-cost LED-based optical detection, low cost pumps and wireless communications. During the project the creation of a deployable integrated prototype was realised through the development of a bench top system to optimise electronics, fluidics, detection limits, calibrate the piezoelectric pumps for correct ratio delivery and integration of each aspect of the prototypes operation. After the validation and testing each component was integrated into the deployable prototype.

The system is cost-effective which was made possible by using rapid prototyping as the principle manufacturing process. Rapid prototyping techniques such as FDM (finite deposition method) 3D printing allowed for components of any geometric complexity to be quickly and easily manufactured. Therefore precise, bespoke components were manufactured to build complex assemblies used for testing and integration into the precompetitive prototype. Electronics for the automation of the fluidic system were developed in-house using Arduino based components and software. Tubing and reagent sample bags for fluidic handling were selected due to their compatibility to the reagents being used and marine samples and antifouling properties.

Development of a microfluidic chip was realised the purpose of the chip is to mix the sample with the reagent and so efficient mixing is paramount to achieving accurate readings. However, the mixing channels must be designed to reduce dead volume and decrease reagent usage, while the detection path must be as long as possible to increase sensitivity to achieve low limit of the detection which was determined to be 0.05uM for each nutrient. The system was ruggedized by using 0.8mm stainless steel 316l (Surgical Grade) cut using high pressure water jet cutter to form the internal chassis. The stainless steel chassis was coupled with a layer of 4mm PMMA to act as a dampener to vibration and to increase rigidity.

In November, the integrated pre-competitive prototype was brought on-board the Minerva Uno, as part of field testing activities, over 400 samples were collected and validated with laboratories in DCU, Tel Laboratories, and in June 2016 the COMMON SENSE precompetitive prototype for nutrients was field-tested in Ny-Asleund, Svalbard, Norway at the CNR Italy Arctic Base Research laboratory. The prototypes can work autonomously collecting data for up to 3 weeks.

3.3 Microplastics sensor
Marine litter, and specially microplastics particles (either primary or secondary), is a global concern in our current world. On one hand, it has strong impact on the environment, habitat and food chain, and consequently on health. On the other one, it affects economy; waste generation and marine litter symbolize a poor resourced economy.

At EU level, the MSFD contains one dedicated descriptor referred to marine litter, and there is available a Guidance on Monitoring of Marine Litter in the European Seas in order to help EU countries achieve GES for this descriptor.

COMMON SENSE, aware of this need, had an activity devoted to providing a sensor system to detect and quantify microplastics particles on water sample, as it’s requested on descriptor 10 of MSFD regarding marine litter. Current methodologies are not automated, and neither are they in real–time. Sample should be filtered, moved to a lab, and there, using naked eyes technologies, microplastics are quantified and identified. It was proposed at project proposal, to develop an automated autonomous sensor system, able to perform quantification on real time.

During the projects life time, new automated developments were known , but although these sensors allowed real time microplastics collection, they are still required to be operated by humans, with reports of issues on battery powering, and it’s not easily deployable.

In this activity, different elements have been developed:
1) Sampling System with reference sensors to allow data comparison.
2) Optical image capture system.
3) Analyser, to determine and quantify (concentration). During project lifetime, another element was included and developed early on, devoted to the classification of the microplastics (what type).

MISS SYSTEM (MIni Seawater Sampling)
IDRONAUT contributed to the COMMON SENSE project development by designing and manufacturing an automated seawater sampling system that integrates discrete off-the-shelf sensors. The sensors can activate the water sampling operations and the microplastics analyser measurements, if particular environmental conditions are detected like: i) increasing of the water turbidity; ii) fluorescence (algae bloom); iii) modification of the physical (CTD) or chemical (pH, DO2) seawater properties.
The developed MISS system combines an innovative miniaturised seawater sample collecting device, based on NISKIN bottles, and an off-the-shelf CTD equipped with physical, chemical and optical advanced sensors.

IDRONAUT has been producing state-of-the-art CTDs and advanced sensors for 35 years, selling them all over the world to oceanographers and biologists and, more generally, to the marine research community that studies the water environments. In agreement with the COMMON SENSE challenging research and objectives, IDRONAUT integrated the most advanced OCEAN SEVEN multiparameter CTD and sensors available into the MISS system.

The front end of the MISS system is the OS316Plus CTD, which communicates and is directly controlled by the microplastics analyser (developed by LEITAT partner). The CTD can be alternatively controlled by the SSU Unit (developed by SUBCTECH partner). According to SubCtech’s recommendations, a special NMEA protocol interface and data packet has been developed and has been integrated into the OS316Plus management firmware to accomplish the interfacing of the MISS system from the SSU and/or from the microplastics analyser.

The MISS system is an automated sampling system, able to provide:
i) Seawater samples, indispensable for the comparative laboratory analyses;

ii) Real-time acquisition of the most important seawater properties, like Temperature, Conductivity, Salinity, Pressure, pH, Dissolved Oxygen, Chlorophyll a, Turbidity, Cyanobacteria;

iii) Microplastics automatic analyses, which start if particular environmental conditions are detected.

The MISS system’s capabilities have been verified in the laboratory and in the field. The MISS system has been tested in the laboratory by immersing the CTD sensors in synthetic salt water and carrying out a simulated monitoring cycle. The NISKIN bottles’ sampling capability, has been tested too on a time basis. The monitoring simulation lasted six days by sampling one bottle each day and acquiring a complete data set every hour. The water sample contained in the bottles has been analysed using the reference laboratory equipment. Afterwards, the collected data has been retrieved from the MISS system data memory and has been compared to the analysis results of the bottles.

The MISS system’s profiling capabilities have been successfully tested during a cruise undertaken on board the MINERVA UNO Research/Survey Vessel (SO.PRO.MAR. S.p.A. chartered to C.N.R.) from 25th November to 14th December 2015, where some profiles at different depths were carried out. To analyse the nutrients and trace metals, the project partners participating in the cruise used samples collected by means of the five NISKIN bottles installed in the MISS system. The integration of the MISS system with the microplastics analyser and SSU unit has been successfully tested during the field campaign carried out at the CNR facilities and in a lagoon in the area of ORISTANO (I) (September 26-30, 2016).
In conclusion, the MISS system is a complete and qualified system (according to the TRL scale, level 8), since it has been proven that, on many occasions during the COMMON SENSE project field tests, it successfully worked in its final prototypical form.

OPTICAL SYSTEM
The optomechanical block of the microplastic sensor was developed by Snelloptics. The measurement concept is based on the detection of the fluorescence when the plastic microparticles are illuminated with UV light. It therefore comprises a UV illumination source, a high-resolution camera and the necessary optics.

It was decided that both the illumination source and the camera would be placed above the cuvette were the water was flowing. In order to illuminate and acquire images at the same time, the illumination source comprised several LEDs positioned in a circular configuration around the optical path between the cuvette and the camera. The LEDs were tilted at a certain angle in order to focus their light on top of the cuvette. The necessary electronics were also developed to control automatically the emission intensity in order to get the best-defined images. Several tests were performed to establish the adequate illumination wavelength. It was decided that 365nm was the best suited for this type of measurements.

The resulting device has a field of view of 5 mm and could detect particles with dimensions bellow 100 micrometers. The combination of illumination intensity and acquisition time of the camera allows to acquire adequate images of the particles flowing through the cuvette for the detection algorithms to be used.

MICROPLASTICS ANALYSER
It has the main aim of managing the previous exposed elements, and process information acquired from optical system, in order to quantify microplastics concentration. It allows autonomous operation, easy installation, and ease of use.
Therefore, the microplastics analyser is completed with the MISS, which ensures that the correct and reproducible sample acquisition procedure is undertaken while the microplastics analyser is deployed in the field. The MISS system comes complete with a pump to flush the collected samples through the measuring flow cell of the microplastics analyser. It’s managed by a serial interface and NMEA protocol.
On the other hand, the Ethernet interface allows us to have a full speed communication link with the optical system, allowing high data transfer rates.
The full sensor system integrates, besides previous described components, a battery management unit, a Raspberry Pi 3 (linux based) and a microplastics container. The Rpi3 manages all the interfaces to communicate with peripheral devices, and implements different scripts, to: 1) get images from the optical systems; 2) Process it using octave software and implemented recognition algorithms and 3) report the data to the SSU Unit. It includes as well datalogger capabilities, by saving data on an attached USB memory stick.

Regarding operation, it includes two different programmable modes: 1) Real time, where all the images are saved. It’s devoted to being used on short term, for demonstration or high concentrations, and 2) Normal mode: Once a particle is detected, the analyser determines if it’s microplastics or not. Otherwise images are not saved.
Microplastics analyser have been tested in the Mediterranean Sea and on Vendeé Globe, onboard of an IMOCA racing yacht, and in Baltic and Norwegian seas, as an instrument taking part of a researcher vessel from Gdansk to Tromso.
Furthermore, it was deployed during COMMON SENSE testing in Oristano, Italy and tests proved the concept and integration ability of the sensor.

3.4 Heavy metals sensor
Heavy metals are metallic elements that have a relatively high density compared to water. In recent years, there has been an increase in ecological and global public health concern associated to environmental contamination by these metals.
Because of their high degree of toxicity, arsenic, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury rank among the priority metals that are of public health significance. These metallic elements are considered systemic toxicants that are known to induce multiple organ damage, even at lower levels of exposure. They are also classified as human carcinogens (known or probable) according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
The European Union Framework Directive 2013/39/EU and the Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA 816-F-09-0004, May 2009) establish the maximum allowable concentration of heavy metals in drinking water. so, their control and monitorization in different water samples is a priority for the environmental agencies. In the COMMON SENSE project a heavy metals sensor has been developed for the simultaneous determination of lead, Pb (II) and cadmium Cd(II) and mercury, Hg(II) and cooper, Cu(II).

The traditional methods used for the determination of most heavy metals in a part-per-billion (ppb) range are atomic absorption and inductive coupled plasma – mass spectrometry. Their main advantages are that they can measure most of the heavy metals and several non-metals with high sensitivity, specificity and that they are very reproducible. However, these instruments remain in the laboratory once installed, due to its complexity and high volume so they cannot be used for “in situ” monitoring of heavy metals. Also, they are expensive, require extensive sample preparation and high power consumptions resulting in a non-cost effective alternative for the control of heavy metals in sea water samples. In the other hand, electrochemical methods are simply, low cost and combined with screen printed electrodes and fluidic system they allow continuous monitoring of these metals in field analysis.
The system developed for heavy metals detection in the frame of the COMMON SENSE project is a portable instrument based on the anodic stripping voltammetry that can measure lead, cadmium, copper and mercury at trace levels (ppb). Stripping analysis is an extremely sensitive electrochemical technique for measuring trace metals. Its remarkable sensitivity is attributed to the combination of an effective preconcentrating step that generates an extremely favourable signal: background ration. Since metals are pre-concentrated into the electrode by factors of 100 – 1000, detection limits are lowered compared to other voltametric measurements. Hence, several metals can be measured simultaneously in various matrices at concentration levels down to 10-10 M utilizing relatively inexpensive instrumentation.
The sensing material of the electrode, developed by CSIC-NAPCOM has unique characteristics when compared with other materials, allowing the detection of the heavy metals at lowest detection limits than when using similar materials. The material was used by DropSens as raw material for the manufacturing of screen printable inks that were further used to produce hundreds of units of screen printed electrodes. The electrode is disposable, avoiding contamination of samples and reducing the need for cleaning procedures. The results obtained in natural sea water samples and artificial samples provided by TelLab, showed a good reproducibility between different batches and a stability of more than two years after manufacturing date.
The system prototype designed and manufactured by DCU allows the automated “in situ” determination of the heavy metals mentioned above due to its portable configuration. It comprises two peristaltic pumps and a microfluidic system for effective mixing of seawater sample with buffer solution at a precisely controlled slow flow rate. The flow rate can be manually changed using a LCD panel. The heavy metals sensor has been successfully tested in laboratory, using both natural and artificial sea water samples, and during field trials and can be integrated with the other sensors developed in COMMON SENSE.

3.5 Underwater noise sensor
3.5.1 Physical sensor development
At the start of the COMMON SENSE Project, CEFAS conducted a review of the current state of the art noise recording devices. This identified 3 devices, each of which had their own limitations: a limited capacity for recording raw data, design for specific markets such as marine mammals therefore not suitable to deliver the 1/3 octave bands of interest, or a lack of access to the technology as they were developed for Naval Research. These systems indicate that a certain amount of pre-processing of acoustic data is desirable to limit storage and transmission needs, and to ensure that costs, both for data transmission but also power consumption are kept to a minimum. A further reason to include pre-processing, is that instruments deployed at sea are subject to loss. By sending this pre-processed data at least some of the data are still available. A method for in-field verification of the system, including a spot check of the hydrophone calibration would also be advantageous, and so requires a portable standard calibration device that can be used prior to each deployment.
CEFAS contributed to the COMMON SENSE project development by designing a noise sensor which can be manufactured using hardware from well-established suppliers. This approach enhances the ongoing support and succession for the specialist parts required. Control software was then developed using National Instruments LabVIEW, allowing future modification should the requirements for noise measurement change. Algorithms have been specifically designed to meet the requirements of the MSFD by delivering the Power Spectral Density in 63Hz and 125Hz 1/3 octave bands, but also providing the raw data from 10Hz to 10kHz for analysis beyond the scope of MSFD, as a research tool.
An interface module has been developed to interface with the SubCtech master logger. It also provides an option to remotely control the noise sensor using a standalone software package, it also permits the user to download the raw data. Power saving has been achieved by duty cycling the system, under control of the master logger
A custom-made adaptor to fit the hydrophone allows use of a piston phone as a method of signal injection. In doing so, the system operation and performance can be tested prior to deployment in the field.
A bespoke sensor housing provides a compact housing solution that can withstand deployment in the harsh environment at sea. It can be manufactured in quantity using standard manufacturing techniques, and is easy to assemble and operate. A crash ring has been manufactured from 316 grade stainless steel to protect the area around the underwater connectors. A dedicated transit case with custom foam insert ensures the noise recorder is safely packaged during transport.
A field deployment was conducted in a lagoon at CNR in Oristano during 26-29 September 2016. The recordings showed variable background noise conditions in the lagoon, with possible dusk and dawn choruses apparent at low frequencies, and occasional vessel passages appearing as brief vertical bands of noise. The dynamic range of the noise recorder was well suited to the prevailing noise conditions, and demonstrated that the vast majority of data was recorded within the dynamic range of the device, and that there was no apparent saturation of the signal. The noise floor of the instrument at 59dB re 1 µPa2 Hz-1 did not constrain the measurements.
In conclusion, the noise sensor has advanced to Technology Readiness Level 7, and has been successfully deployed on many occasions during the COMMON SENSE project. Beyond the scope of this project, we have also identified a potential benefit to log two hydrophone channels to permit surface subtraction from measurements taken at depth. Our sensor has been designed to allow a second channel to be incorporated within the existing housing, which includes a connector for the second hydrophone and space for another amplifier. This was result of constant feedback between hardware, CEFAS, and software, IOPAN, developers, which allowed for an incremental refinement of both parts. Implementation would require modification of the software to acquire data from two hydrophones.
3.5.2 Algorithms for noise recognition
Algorithms of detection thresholds, detectable range, probability of sources recognition and classification were developed and tested. The results of analysis of algorithms performance provided valuable feedback information for further development of appropriate hardware, observation protocols. Advantages and constraints of the proposed algorithms were thoroughly assessed in respect of environmental and technical factors. The full and comprehensive report was produced as a Deliverable 8.5 “Algorithms package for source noise classification”. As the result of research performed toward development algorithm, one scientific publication on noise algorithms, attributed to COMMON SENSE Project was published .

Several aspects affecting the constructions of algorithms and their performance in respect to varying and frequently unknown environmental conditions as well as technical constraints were analysed. This lead to new insights in the phenomena of artificially introduced noise into the ocean environment and ways to detect and classify the sources of such noise on the background of the natural noise sources. Selected conclusions are as follow:

It was proved that in the areas with heavy vessel traffic the underwater noise level is disturbed to the level which makes it almost impossible to distinguish if the background noise is natural or of anthropogenic origin.

Regions of significantly different environmental characteristics and in different seasons should be analysed separately. Post processing and classification of sound sources for such data should be done separately for each data set covering similar underwater noise propagation properties.

It was found that some simple techniques as: analysing quickly rising noise level related to the more slowly changing the wind-dependent component of the ambient noise could be a good detector for nearby passage of single ship detection, or observation of a spectral slope in frequency range 500/800 Hz-8/10 kHz, perform surprisingly well.

Developed algorithms can be applied in shallow sea areas recommended by MSFD GES Technical Subgroup (2012).

3. Field tests
List of platforms & main characteristics/constraints
During the field testing activities (WP9), partners of the COMMON SENSE Consortium have deployed precompetitive prototypes at chosen platforms previously grouped into five categories: (A) Research vessels; (B) Oil platforms; (C) Buoys and submerged moorings; (D) Ocean racing yachts and (E) Drifting buoys.

The research platforms available for the field testing (by partners indicated in brackets) were the following (see also D9.2 where some available platforms are described more extensively):
A. Research vessels
MINERVA UNO (resp. CNR):
For all sensors during 15-days cruises in 2015 and 2016, mounted on frame of CTD/rosette system or downflow of an on-board seawater pump. Sensor for microplastics could be tested on nets but with autonomous power (daily sensor maintenance when on board).

OCEANIA (resp. IOPAN):
5 winches were available, two with cable line. No strong restrictions in instruments/winches number operating simultaneously, but sounding depth was higher than 50 m. Constant maintenance of mounted sensors onboard.

Motorboat (resp. IOPAN):
All sensors with limited dimensions and weight of instruments. One winch available, with a sounding depth of up to 50 m. Constant maintenance onboard. Work performed up to 2B, wind up to 6m/s, wave up to 1m in the Gulf of Gdańsk and Vistula river areas.

SARMIENTO DE GAMBOA (resp. CSIC):
For all sensors during cruises planned yearly. Testing for temperature, pH, pCO2 and nutrients was in a July 2016 cruise but without developers on board.

B. Oil platforms
Gdansk Bay, Southern Baltic (resp. IOPAN):
Sensors limitations in size and weight and in number due to security reasons. Monthly maintenance possible. Restrictions strongly limited its use.

Smartbuoy (resp. CEFAS):
For all sensors, but a constrain in sensors/instruments size. Then only the noise sensor has been tested and mounted to avoid pickup from the mooring.

C. Buoys and submerged moorings
Mediterranean underwater moorings (resp. CNR):
Deep moorings at the continental slope and canyons of the NW Mediterranean (resp. ICM-CSIC): 4 deep mooring lines available (1 in the Catalan Sea, 2 in the Sicily Strait and 1 in the Corsica Channel). Constrains were on dimension and weight and on depth pressure limit. Maintenance planned every 6 months. Due to limitations, these platforms were not used. Aqualog undulating mooring (resp. CSIC): As above with monthly maintenance. Not used for testing.

OBSEA Underwater observatory (resp. CSIC):
Like Aqualog. Surface buoy in front of Barcelona (resp. CSIC): data radio direct link with CSIC. Available for autonomous light sensors. Installed too late for testing.

D. IMOCA Sailing Yacht Kingfisher One Planet One Ocean (resp. FNOB):
Available for microplastics and eutrophication depending on sensors size and needs. Long-time tests possible until February 2017 during races.

E. Drifting buoys. (resp. ICM-CSIC):
All sensors depending by size, battery power capacity and weight.

G. Further platforms
Arctic base Dirigibile Italia (http://www.polarnet.cnr.it) in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard archipelago (CNR): all sensors at local wharf or on a boat. Equipped laboratories available.

Lowestoft harbour in UK (CEFAS) and several stakeholders interested in evaluating the sensors. A list follows:
Marine Systems Institute (Tallinn University of Technology, Estonia): test microplastics sensor in the Baltic Sea on 2 ferrybox systems (board passenger ferry and on research vessel) and 2 autonomous profiling buoy stations.

Acqua Alta research tower (CNR) offshore Venice Gulf on 16 m of water depth with an instrument house. High level of security and wide desk space for all sensors.
Floating Pontoon (HIMB, USA): for eutrophication. Secure area and electricity available.

In the protocols prepared in D9.1 for testing activities was immediately included a validation of measurements, when possible, realized during testing activities with the new sensors developed inside the COMMON SENSE project. This was done with several sensors like eutrophication, microplastics, pH, temperature and pressure during most of the tests.

Over 22 tests have been realized in the marine field. The activity started at month 22 (August 2015). CNR sent around invitations to sensor developers for field testing in 2015 on its platforms (ship, moorings). For the preparation of the testing activities the moorings have been partially serviced in August 2015 for the semestral maintenance and battery replacements and concluded in November/December 2015 during a second cruise with the testing of nutrients, heavy metals (both tested in the Arctic in June 2016) sensors and the MISS system for the microplastics sensor. A first successful deployment of the prototype noise sensor has been completed by CEFAS in the Lowestoft harbour (UK) on 2nd-4th September and the reviewing the data captured which are part of the D8.3 Report with recommendations of further improvements to follow. Further deployments have been realized in early November 2015 at IOPAN's facilities in the Gdansk Bay (Poland), then finally at IAMC CNR's facilities in the Torregrande Marina (Sardinia, Italy) where all sensors were tested. A final demonstration was provided to all interested users where all sensors were on show. Fundació per la Navegació Oceànica Barcelona (FNOB) facilities hosted the event in January 2017.

The protocols prepared in D9.1 have been verified during the field testing activities of the innovative sensors on platforms.

Used platforms can be summarized into 3 main categories: (A) Research vessels; (D) Ocean racing yachts; (G) Fixed platforms.

An exhaustive analysis of the different data obtained during field testing activities has been carried out to set possible optimization actions for prototypes design and performances. The data from each platform have been analyzed to verify limits and optimal installations or possible improvements.

Finally, a set of possible optimization actions has been defined. Data and observations collected during the course of field testing have been used to iteratively optimize the design and performance of the precompetitive prototypes. Possible optimization actions are listed in D9.2 for each sensor.

Apart from possible optimizations, always feasible for all instruments, at the end of the field testing activities, innovative sensors have been successfully tested in their design, data quality and data transmission in different environmental conditions then obtaining a clear overview on developed sensors and their possible applications in this their initial COMMON SENSE version.

Potential Impact:
The main objective of COMMON SENSE was to develop innovative sensors to support MSFD and other EU policies (such as CFP) and make them interoperable with existing services, with a special emphasis on demonstration at relevant scales and if possible, to make them manufactural. Proving the technical and economic viability at larger scale is regarded as a crucial milestone in the trajectory to commercialisation, where scientific potential is transferred into real economic and societal impact. To evaluate this possibility, one special report about feasibility analysis and manufacturing procedures was generated within the project lifetime.

To respond to the EC’s requirements regarding environmental monitoring and to support the MSFD, and related policies on assessing and monitoring Good Environmental Status (GES), COMMON SENSE was built on 4 technical pillars:
• Study of the current situation, best practices, needs, policies and basis to maximize results (and impact) of planned developments
• Sensors development
• Development of interoperable platforms
• Field testing

a) Potential impact
The reports generated in the early project stage, concerning understanding of in-situ ocean observing systems and EU legislation and integrated basis for cost-effective sensors development are publicly available. They can be used by those interested in a comprehensive, one-stop reference source of information on existing monitoring procedures, technical sensor development work and deployment/trials planning for the project and methodologies strategies in respect of eutrophication, marine litter, contaminants, underwater noise and reference sensors. Also, they serve as possibilities of integration of a developed system and sensors into EU and national monitoring programs in regions of North Sea, Baltic and Mediterranean.

Basing literature review, consultations to experts, interviews of stakeholders and the COMMON SENSE workshop, the range of barriers/gaps in existing monitoring systems and sensors availability or integration were identified and inventoried. Those barriers were divided into classes as cost constraints, technological, methodological, knowledge gaps and socio-economic and political barriers. To each class of barriers, the range of potential solutions were listed. This barriers inventory is available as part of D1.1 “Review on the available methodological standards and gaps to be covered in order to meet the MSFD requirements.” This set of reports, as planned, was used by the project as a technical, legal and regulatory background for defining the sensors characteristics, performance, costs effectiveness to meet both functional demands and required scientific standards. Reports can be used for the similar purpose beyond the project timeline.

The successful development of the Web Platform contributes to an improved ability to assess data for key descriptors proposed by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). It utilises OGC Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) standards incorporating Sensor Observation Service 2.0 (SOS 2.0) for requesting data observations and metadata, Observations & Measurements 2.0 (O&M 2.0) for encoding data observations, and SensorML 2.0 for encoding metadata. The adoption of such standards facilitates improved interoperable data access between projects and organisations, which in turn contributes to more cost-effective monitoring programmes with improved data sharing, reuse, maintenance and preservation.

The overarching structure of the various SWE standards are extensive and flexible enabling the description of diverse sensors and sensor data in different domains ranging from the environment to medical, etc., and also at different scales ranging from small sensor components to full sensor systems and sensor workflows. Therefore, specific profiles and use cases specific to a domain are required at the syntaxial and semantic levels of interoperability. The various EC funded Oceans of Tomorrow projects, which COMMON SENSE was a part of, has helped the formation of a SWE Marine Profiles group, which is used to discuss different approaches regarding SWE standards. The impact of this new user community creates a project legacy, and is helping to better define best practices and a set of profiles for SWE standards for marine sensors and applications

Unlike other already integrated sensor arrays (e.g. FerryBox and OceanPack), the new developed sensor array needs to be modular and flexible, and needs to be adapted to a wide variety of platforms (vessels, yachts, buoys, oil rigs and moorings). Each platform has its own challenges and unique set up. Furthermore, regarding functionality, it must be able to supply power and control sensors, collect data from there and transmit the collected data to the CSWP.

The developed SmartSensorUnit opens up a new niche for environmental observation: The EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requests larger efforts in marine observations. To fulfil the MSFD, EU members demand for affordable environmental observation systems. The core of those systems with new and cost effective sensors is our SmartSensorUnit. Hence, we can offer a product which fits well in the demands of the market.

Also, we claim a moderate TRL scale of 6 (in the range of 9) for our product at the moment; we could easily launch an operational product within short time. It is foreseeable that the SSU with a further R&D investment, can be successfully introduced on the world market shortly after the project is finished (estimated end of 2017). Thanks to its flexible design and software architecture, the SSU will address the demands of various clients. Environmental observation is not only limited to the public sector. Besides “typical” clients such as universities, research institutes or environmental agencies, the private sector has also an interest in those devices. Binding environmental standards or requirements from the insurance companies defines a growing market.

It is also too early to estimate the exact market. At the moment, we aim to win costumers for 5-10 units per year at the end of the product development.

Temperature sensor developed in the COMMON SENSE project is based on a new sensing material that is completely organic, consisting in a polymer matrix covered with 3% of the an organic semiconductor. The material is produced in the laboratory by solution techniques at low temperature being much cheaper than the metallic sensors in terms of components and energy required for processing.
In addition, this very cheap material can be attached to any surface and with the appropriate electronics can be used to measure continuously temperature in multiple parts of a big surface. The developed sensor consists on a small piece (2 x 5 mm) of the material placed in a robust container and with the electronics to continuously measure the water temperature and transmit the data. It has a very low power consumption (1- 5 mW) and achieves a resolution of 0.001 ºC and an accuracy of 0.005 ºC, being almost two order of magnitude more sensitive that a Pt film based sensor at room temperature. It has been successfully tested in laboratory as well as during field trials. It has also been successfully integrated in the Smart Sensor Unit

The setup of a continuous and punctual monitoring of pH and pCO2 is of great relevance for the assessment of water quality, especially in the frame of the challenges posed by global climate change and ocean acidification phenomena. The cheap and robust sensors proposed can allow a scale-up of sensors deployment increasing the amount of available data and, thus, the comprehension of ocean evolution. The information can be valuable for policy makers not only in terms of environmental protection but also for the optimum exploitation of water resources.

Though the production method proposed is in principle scalable for industrial production, further development should be made to bring this technology to a higher readiness level (present TRL:3/4).

Pre-competitive prototypes for the detection of key nutrients (nitrate, nitrite and phosphate) contributing to eutrophication were developed on project’s framework. The prototypes are cost effective and are based on a combination of microfluidic analytical systems, colorimetric reagent chemistry, low-cost LED-based optical detection, low cost pumps and wireless communications. The development of the microfluidic chip allowed for a detection limit of approx. 0.05uM for each analyte. The prototypes went through a series of field-testing as part of deployment activities in the Mediterranean Sea, and Kongsfjorden Fjord, Svalbard Islands Norway. The low cost, accuracy and design of the sensors mean that they can be deployed on varying platforms and can provide the end user with real-time information on the natural and anthropogenic nutrient levels within coastal and marine environments. The sensor can be deployed for up to 28 days gathering data that can not only be used at a regional level providing information on local conditionals but also by providing the data necessary for the MSFD to achieve GES by 2020.

Despite developed microplastics sensor system needs some improvements to become a product, autonomous real time in situ microplastics quantification allow us to optimize the calculation time versus current methodologies, and enables the collection and quantification on any kind of platform which accomplish some requirements (the system is not waterproof, and needs external power).

On the other hand, gather exhaustive data (produced by autonomous and connected device) make real the possibility of drawdown in real time a map about microplastics pollution, which can be used as an action and citizens’ awareness tool.

Didac Costa has carried the microplastic sensor built by LEITAT in the last Vendee Globe 2016 sailing again round the world inside the COMMON SENSE project. It allows to get samples from areas such as the Southern Ocean, covering non-commercial routes.

IDRONAUT has been producing CTDs and other equipment for 35 years, selling them all over the world to oceanographers and biologists and, more generally, to the marine research community that studies the water environments. The MISS system is a complete and qualified system (according to the TRL scale, level 8), since it has been proven that, ON many occasions during the COMMON SENSE project field tests, it successfully worked in its final prototypical form. The MISS system, with a further R&D investment, can be introduced into the worldwide market at the end of the project (spring of 2017).

The MISS system represents a breakthrough in the seawater sampling systems because of its small dimensions, lightweight and easiness of use. Moreover, being the MISS system built using plastic (POM) and Titanium, it can be used to carry out any kind of water sampling as it does not contaminate the sample. Thanks to the integrated multiparameter CTD, different sampling strategies can be adopted, whereas the competition’s products have limited sampling capabilities (Time and Pressure only).
IDRONAUT presently sells the GENERAL OCEANICS (Miami, USA) 1018 Rosette sampling systems in Europe. The GO-1018 Rosettes are designed for full ocean and therefore their dimensions, number and size of bottles, and cost comply with this type of application. On the contrary, the MISS system has been designed as a sampling system, dedicated to environmental monitoring of coastal areas, which can be deployed from small boats, even if not equipped with motorised winch.

In EUROPE, the interest in seawater sampling systems is presently scarce, mainly because of the lack of funds for the environmental monitoring. However, if properly supported by the European MFD, 2000/60/CE and any future directives, the interest in this kind of miniaturised sampling system(s) will increase. In fact, the MISS system can help the scientist to simplify and automate the water sampling procedures, presently undertaken by manually deploying single NISKIN bottles.

In conclusion, IDRONAUT estimates to sell up to 5-10 units (1-2 units per year) in Europe in the first five years after the project. Most of them would be sold to environmental public agencies carrying out the monitoring of European coastal areas, as requested by the MFD directive. These conservative opinions and forecasts are formulated considering the present extremely volatile market and taking into account the average of similar products sold by IDRONAUT in the last 10 years.

Heavy metals such as lead, cadmium and mercury are among the most important contaminants in sea water because of their high degree of toxicity. These metallic elements rank among the priority metals that are of public health significance so a continuous control and monitoring of their concentration in sea waters is necessary. The sensor developed in the COMMON SENSE project is based on electrochemical analysis which present the advantage of high simplicity, high sensitivity, good stability and low cost. These instruments, coupled with screen printed electrodes is a fluid handling system particularly suitable for on-site monitoring of heavy metals in field analysis

The sensor is a prototype that now is in a TRL6 stage. It has been successfully tested in laboratory and has been tested during field trials. The heavy metals sensor developed pre-concentrate the heavy metals prior their determination, allowing the simultaneous determination of lead, Pb(II) and cadmium Cd(II) and the determination of mercury Hg(II) and cooper Cu(II) at trace levels (ppb), showing a good repeatability between measurement with high selectivity when tested in water samples.
A scientific paper, describing the fabrication and characterization of the screen-printed electrodes has been published, Microchimica acta 183, 2 (2016) 617 – 623 other dissemination activities performed include the dissemination of project factsheet at international congress and expositions (Pittcon 2015, SIBAE 2016...).

The noise recorder developed by CEFAS addresses Descriptor 11 of the EU MSFD which encompasses underwater noise. Indicator 11.2.1 concerns continuous noise (for which shipping is the main source), and requires monitoring of noise levels in European waters within specified frequency bands centred at 63 and 125 Hz.

The COMMON SENSE noise recorder has been designed to fulfil this requirement, and has on-board data processing capability to produce summary data of noise levels in these frequency bands for efficient data transmission via wireless data link. Additionally, raw data can be recorded archivally for subsequent analysis if more detailed information is needed (i.e. beyond the requirements of the MSFD). The system has been designed for deployment from small boats, and with some later minor modification could be deployed as a standalone system, as has been achieved at prototype stages during early system trials.

This sensor, when combined with the range of sensors developed for COMMON SENSE, provides a one-stop shop for EU member states to meet key elements of the MSFD. The impact includes governments within the EU, Environmental Agencies, Legislative Bodies and Research Agencies. There could also be impacts for non-EU countries who may have equivalent MSFD needs.

With 23 of the 28 current EU member states having a sea border, if it is assumed each country will require at least two noise recorders, one for deployment one being turned around for its next deployment, this would indicate sales of least 46units. Those countries with larger sea borders may well need more devices. Another option would be for a company to set-up to hire out the equipment.

The best approach has not been evaluated, as the device currently has a TRL of 7, so requires additional work to enable the set-up for mass production. At this stage, the market testing would be required to establish the appropriate level of mechanisation to achieve the most efficient production costs.

Ranges of recommendations for the future work over improved detection system were given, among them:
• Presented work proved and outlined the prospects of use two hydrophones instead of so-far recommended one. This opens the way for getting more valuable information from the noise sensors, with already tested sophisticated methods of signal post processing. This recommendation was taken into account in the noise sensor developed and constructed by the Project, foreseeing hardware and software to be ready to use the second hydrophone.
• It was proved that 16-bit or of-the-shelf 24-bit ADC systems are largely inadequate to the task – dedicated 24-bits good quality system is the must.

• It was found that the measurement of noise should be taken at depths lower 8m, to mitigate environmental and platform motion effects on a signal quality.

• It is recommended that for the further development of classification algorithms for improving performance the modelling should be used that takes into account site-dependent signal propagation characteristics.

The setup of a continuous and punctual monitoring of pollutants using sailing boats racing round the world is of great relevance for the assessment of water quality, especially in the frame of the challenges posed by global climate change. Using racing boats allows to get samples from areas with very little maritime traffic and can be implemented in the hole fleet of a round the world sailing race covering different areas of the oceans. The information can be valuable for policy makers not only in terms of environmental protection but also for the optimum exploitation of water resources.

b) Main dissemination activities and exploitation of results: (4 pages)
The Dissemination and Exploitation Plan was established at the commencement of the project (Deliverable 10.1) to provide protocols ensuring that all relevant knowledge coming out of the project was carefully managed from the very beginning. This plan was updated on a yearly basis to improve the strategies and to keep track of dissemination and exploitation actions. All project partners are involved in dissemination and exploitation in order to foster awareness and transfer results for a better impact, especially in their own countries and in their regional communities. All partners in COMMON SENSE had specifically time allocated for communication, dissemination, and exploitation activities as described in Annex I of the GA.

The importance of disseminating knowledge and results from research projects has been recognised by the EC as one of its priorities (COM(287)182 final). Dissemination of results is a contractual obligation of participation in research initiatives supported under the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme for research (FP7). The specific aims of this provision are to promote knowledge sharing, greater public awareness, transparency, and education. The Dissemination and Exploitation Plan is not only defining where and when the information should be disseminated but also what should be communicated and how it should be presented.

All Partners engaged regularly in dissemination activities with many either displaying the generic project poster or disseminating project factsheets at various national and international scientific as well as industrial conferences and exhibitions they attended. These included some of the largest global exhibitions, such as ASLO 2015, held in Granada (http://sgmeet.com/aslo/granada2015/); Nano tech 2015 (http://www.nanotechexpo.jp/report.html) which was held in Tokyo, Japan on 28-30 January 2015; and Pittcon 2015 held in New Orleans (http://pittcon.org/pittcon-2015/). With regard to the latter, COMMON SENSE partners DCU, DropSens and TelLab represented the project at Pittcon in New Orleans, Louisiana from 6th -10th March 2015. Pittcon is the world's largest annual conference and exposition for laboratory science. The attendance for 2015 was 14,272 persons with individuals from 90 countries. Another example of COMMON SENSE event attendance was the presentation of the project at the Science Days Workshop organized inside the final Steering Committee meeting of the EU project JERICO at Ifremer in Plouzane (Brest, France) on April 29, 2015 by project partner CNR. Another presence at a significant global exhibition was Oceanology International 2016 as well as more strategic gatherings such as the Oceans of Tomorrow (OoT) conference (11th November 2015) in Brussels, Belgium or GEO workshop in Copenhagen. COMMON SENSE also organised ascientific workshop as part of the Baltic Operational Oceanographic System Annual Meeting and Scientific Workshop held in Sopot, Poland (17- 19 May 2016) as agreed with the COMMON SENSE EC Desk Officer. The COMMON SENSE workshop included five presentations: project overview, and the new sensors for temperature, microplastics, underwater noise, and eutrophication. More than 40 attendees were present.

COMMON SENSE held its final event in Barcelona on the 27 January 2017, attended by project partners and important stakeholders involved in European marine monitoring. The Meeting was held in the facilities of the Fundació Navegació Oceànica Barcelona (FNOB), partner in the COMMON SENSE project. The full day meeting provided in-depth context on the challenges and importance of improving methods and available technology to monitor and protect our marine waters. Presentations on the specific results generated by the COMMON SENSE project preceded a live demonstration of the marine monitoring sensors generated by the project. External stakeholders were invited to attend and view how the sensors were developed, and how they can work together. Developers were then available to discuss the technical components of the sensors. These activities are detailed in Annex 1 “COMMON SENSE Publications and Dissemination Log” and also in deliverable D10.5 .

COMMON SENSE researchers ensured that research findings of importance were disseminated to the target scientific community through scientific (peer reviewed) publications and conferences. Scientific COMMON SENSE results have been and will continue to be published in high impact general and specialised journals. During the course of the project, several partners published results from the COMMON SENSE project in journals such as Springer, EIII, Elsevier, etc. Several more are expected to be published immediately after the finish of the project, and will be made available through the COMMON SENSE website.

COMMON SENSE aimed to achieve an effective visual brand identity by the consistent use of particular visual elements to create distinction, such as specific fonts, colours, and graphic elements. COMMON SENSE’s brand is implemented in its promotional material such as the website, PowerPoint templates, project factsheets, posters, etc. Further promotional material was developed to support the dissemination of the project. These included: project pens and keyrings for use at general dissemination events, a new project poster, a 3-minute information project video and a project pull up banner.

Regular factsheets were developed, published and widely disseminated. As well as an introductory factsheet developed at the start of the project to introduce stakeholders to the COMMON SENSE project, its objectives, methodology and expected impacts, three other factsheets provided information on important aspects of the project, such as: how COMMON SENSE sensors will contribute to improving marine monitoring and marine data management including an infographic that shows the project development timeline alongside a timeline for MSFD implementation; introductory detail on each of the innovative sensors under development by COMMON SENSE including the description of how the sensors could work together on one platform through the smart sensor unit and common sensor platform whose goal was to collect data from multiple sensors; detail on the deployment and testing activities carried out by partners to ensure developed sensors were fit for purpose and to identify areas which required further modification. Significant effort was expended in these activities, with all sensors being tested a multiple of times at different locations and using different platforms.

Footage for the COMMON SENSE project video (D10.8) was captured on board sensor testing exercises in the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas during the project. Additional footage was captured in the state of the art facilities at Dublin City University’s National Centre for Sensor Research during the 30M consortium meeting. This footage was edited to produce the final Project Video which will be an excellent vehicle for disseminating project results not only during the project lifecycle but also in the legacy phase. As a teaser for the project video, a short informational project video (non-contractual) was created using a combination of real footage from project sensor testing activities and animations to present the project in a succinct manner to a general audience at dissemination events, workshops and across online platforms. This was first screened at OI2016 in London, UK and is available to view on Vimeo and on the project website (https://vimeo.com/163395400). The final project video is also available on Vimeo (https://vimeo.com/201643243) and on the project website: http://www.commonsenseproject.eu/2014-02-18-14-28-42/project-video. The video has been translated into several different European languages to allow for a wider dissemination. These languages include: German, Polish, French, Spanish, Italian, Deutsch.

Two project posters were developed and printed for use at various events and dissemination events throughout the project lifetime. Both posters were used to raise awareness of the project and to utilise the project branding to create a following of supporters. Both posters can be found on the project website here: http://www.commonsenseproject.eu/2014-02-18-14-28-42/common-sense-poster.
Four technical sensor profiles were developed at the end of the project, providing technical detail and outlining the highlights of each sensor. These profiles were created with commercial stakeholders in mind, and particular emphasis was placed on the identification of the Technology Readiness Level (TRL) of each sensor, providing stakeholders with important information in a short and easy to understand format. The four Sensor Profiles available are: COMMON SENSE Microplastics Analyzer and MISS; COMMON SENSE SSU and Web Platform; COMMON SENSE Underwater Noise Sensor and Reference Sensors and COMMON SENSE Eutrophication Sensor and Heavy Metals Sensor.

Advice to policy makers was compiled, according to the specific challenges addressed within the COMMON SENSE project, in order to improve or make more exhaustive related marine legislations. These policy briefs are compiled into one report, which also outlines the specific events targeted by COMMON SENSE to reach policy-makers and inform them of the results of the project, and how they can be applied in a policy setting. In particular, the Marine Strategy Framework Directives (MSFD) was a key focus in the COMMON SENSE sensor development, with each sensor responding to at least one key descriptor within the MSFD. The Policy Briefs provide a breakdown per relevant descriptor of how the COMMON SENSE sensors provide evidence and support.

At regular intervals, press releases and promotional articles were developed and distributed via a range of dissemination channels, including online sources such as relevant websites, e-news services, ResearchGate, Gallileo, news feeds, trade press, EC news channels and social medias where deemed appropriate [e.g. LinkedIn, YouTube, Twitter]. The project partners considered that the project outreach and engagement activities could be further strengthened by a social media platform and a project twitter account was subsequently established for this purpose. This can be viewed here: https://twitter.com/COMMONSENSE_EU.

Knowledge from the project has been collected (M12, M18, M24, M30, M40) via a Knowledge Management Template, through a process described in the Dissemination and Exploitation Plan (D10.1). All partners actively participated in the knowledge management process. The COMMON SENSE Knowledge Management protocol was of noted benefit to the consortium in response to two requests for detailed descriptions of project results. Both requests to supply a synopsis of project results were mandated by the EC through communications by the head of the Marine Unit, Ms. Sigi Gruber. 1)
To provide a list of exploitable results in advance of the Oceans of Tomorrow (OoT) conference (11th November 2015) to allow the EC to better understand what their investment in the OoT projects have yielded so far. 2) to provide all Knowledge Outputs of the COMMON SENSE project to the COLUMBUS project, who are supporting the EC in setting up a H2020 Marine Information sharing platform. This platform has recently gone live and therefore the initial Knowledge Outputs from COMMON SENSE have been made publicly available through this portal.

To understand the status of each sensor and the potential for exploitation, a feasibility analysis was carried out. The feasibility analysis of the sensors developed will allow optimising those parameters that make the sensors less suitable to the market and less competitive. At the same time, it will encourage the manufacturers to invest in these products since it will provide end-users with information related to the market and the benefits they may have. The industry and market addressed will comprise all the end-users included in EU countries, e.g. data users (public agencies, meteorological institutes, research centers, etc.), industrial manufacturers (sensors and sensors’ components manufacturers, boat builders interested in incorporating sensors in nautical boats, etc.) and all the commercial and strategic partners involved in sensor development, commercialisation and implementation. The detailed feasibility analysis can be found on Deliverable 10.3.

The development of COMMON SENSE sensors as proposed in the project was successful in all cases and they have been proved to be functional in different environments. However, not all COMMON SENSE technologies reached the same Technology Readiness Level (TRL) at the end of the project, mainly because they started from different TRL levels. Table 1 in section 3 of deliverable D10.3 describes the different TRL’s reached and whether, at the current stage of development, the sensors can be industrially manufactured or if, on the other hand additional research is necessary.

Briefly, at the current stage of development the technologies TRL’s span from 3-8, with mainly three different levels of development: 1) Prototypes that can be easily manufactured industrially (such as MISS system, SSU, Heavy metals and Underwater noise) 2) Prototypes that required further research before being manufacturable because they are technologically new (reference sensors: pH, pCO2 and temperature) and 3) Prototypes which have been proved fully functional, but which need improvements of some feature such as housing, fluidic system, or manufacturing procedures (Eutrophication, Microplastics).

Overall, the COMMON SENSE partners are committed to ensuring the next generation marine sensor prototypes generated through the project will continue to be improved and eventually enter the market place either through continued research or by making the foreground available.

The results of the COMMON SENSE project can be used to increase knowledge of the marine environment and access to related data, allowing strategic decisions to be taken in marine protection and conservation. It will also help to support EU policies (MSFD / CFP) by providing multifunctional, innovative and cost-effective sensors that are easy to use across a range of platforms to detect reliable measurements on key parameters by means of methodological standards that interoperate with, existing or new, international observing services.

All COMMON SENSE resources are available to download from the COMMON SENSE website. www.commonsenseproject.eu or by contacting the project coordinator Sergio Martinez of LEITAT (smartineznavas@leitat.org).

List of Websites:
COMMON SENSE website:
www.commonsenseproject.eu

Project Coordinator:
Sergio Martinez Navas
smartineznavas@leitat.org

LEITAT Technological Center
C/ de la Innovació, 2
08225 Terrassa (Barcelona)
Spain

Final Report Summary - COMMON SENSE (COST-EFFECTIVE SENSORS, INTEROPERABLE WITH INTERNATIONAL EXISTING OCEAN OBSERVING SYSTEMS, TO MEET EU POLICIES REQUIREMENTS)

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