Platform-independent mobile environmental sensing system

A method for operating a system for water sampling or collection at a wastewater site, a body of water, or an aquaculture farm, the method comprising:

• positioning a sensing platform over or next to a water body medium in a sampling or collecting operation, wherein the sensing platform comprises an elongated or elongate-able structure that can extend or hinge-ably move to a first position to put a remote sensor connected to the sensing platform by the elongated or elongate-able structure into the water body medium for water collection or sampling;
• transmitting, over a wireless communication channel, a wireless command signal from a first controller located on the sensing platform to a second controller located in the remote sensor, wherein the second controller located in the remote sensor is fully autonomous and is not electrically connected by wire to the first controller;
• executing, at the second controller, a set of instructions for a sensing or collection protocol to perform a sensing or collection operation at the remote sensor;
• concurrent with the execution of the set of instructions for the sensing or collection protocol, adjusting at the sensing platform the remote sensor from the first position to a plurality of positions, including a second position and a third position, each corresponding to a different water depth to perform the sensing or collection operation of the remote sensor at the respective water depth;
• wherein the sensing or collection protocol for the sampling or collecting operation is synchronized to the plurality of positions corresponding to the different water depths.