Design and validation of an adaptive low-power detection algorithm for three-cup anemometer

Abstract An adaptive low-power detection algorithm for a cup anemometer is designed. The model of a commercial cup anemometer is applied in the simulation of constant wind fields. When the rotation of the cup rotor is stabilized in the wind field, its speed will fluctuate within certain range. It is found that the distribution of rotational speed approximately conforms to the normal distribution model, and parameters of the model under different wind speeds are obtained. Based on the distribution model, an algorithm for signal processing is designed for the cup anemometer, of which the structure for signal processing is designed to adapt to the algorithm. Experiments show that the algorithm is relatively adaptive so that it can sustain the performance of the anemometer. The anemometer achieves low power consumption, which is less 4.2mW. And the mean velocity error is less than 0.25 m/s among the measured velocity range from 0.9 m/s to 10 m/s.