A. Caiti, acaiti@dsea.unipi.it
ISME, Universita di Genova, Via Opera Pia, 16145 Genova, Italy
P. Felisberto, S.M. Jesus and A. Silva, {pfelis,
sjesus,asilva}@ualg.pt
ISR, Universidade do Algarve, Campus de Gambelas, PT-8005-139 Faro, Portugal.
T. Husoy, thor.husoy@kongsberg.com
Kongsberg Maritime AS, Strandpromenaden 50, 3183 Horten, Norway
I. Karasalo, ilkka.karasalo@foi.se
FOI, Gullfossgatan 6, 16490 Kista, Sweden
Tor Arne Reinen, tor.a.reinen@sintef.no
SINTEF, Strindvein 4, 7465 Trondheim, Norway
R. Massimelli, massimelli@selex-se.com
SELEX SI, Via Hermanda 6b, 16154 Genova, Italy
Comments: download pdf file.
Ref.: Oceans'11, Santander, Spain, June 2011.
Abstract
Acoustic networks are for underwater what wifi is for terrestrial networks. The
ocean is a nearly perfect media for acoustic waves in which regards long range
propagation but poses a number of challenges in terms of available bandwidth,
Doppler spread and channel fading. These limitations originate in the physical
properties of the ocean, namely its anysotropy and boundary interaction which are
particularly relevant in coastal waters where acoustic propagation becomes
predominantly dependent on seafloor and sea surface properties. The acoustic
communication channel is therefore multipath dominated and time and Doppler
spread variable. The problem is agravated when involving moving receivers as for
instance when attempting to establish communication with or between moving autonomous
underwater vehicles. The EU-funded project UAN - Underwater Acoustic Network aims at
conceiving, developing and testing at sea an innovative and operational concept for
integrating in a unique communication system submerged, surface and aerial sensors with
the objective of protecting off-shore and coastline critical infrastructures. UAN went
through various phases, including the development of hardware and software specific
components, its testing independently and then in an integrated fashion, both in the
lab and at sea. This paper reports on the project concept and vision as well as on the
progress of its various development phases and the results obtained herein. At the time
of writing, a final project sea trial is being planned and will take place two weeks
before the conference so, although here we will concentrate on the progress obtained
so far, the presentation at the conference may include additional results depending
on the outcome of the sea trial.
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