Acoustic Modem for Micro AUVs

Motivation

A mandatory prerequisite for underwater networks is communication. Here, acoustics is the preferred choice, because radio and light are restricted to extremely low distances of a few meters at most. Unfortunately, existing hardware is typically prohibitively expensive (several thousand Euros per device), consumes too much power (several tens of Watts), or offers too low a data rate (a few bits per second only).

Goals and Contributions

To fill this gap, we developed a low-power, low-cost experimentation and research platform for acoustic underwater communication and ranging. This platform is the fundament for our research on medium access, routing, and localization protocols based on underwater acoustic communication. It allows us to conduct real-world experiments and therefore develop protocols based on realistic assumptions, giving a great advantage over purely theoretical work based on ideal simulation environments.

Publikationen

• Christian Renner and Alexander J. Golkowski: Acoustic Modem for Micro AUVs: Design and Practical Evaluation. In , Hrsg., Proceedings of the 11th ACM International Conference on Underwater Networks & Systems . ACM, Shanghai, China, oct 2016.
• Christian Renner, Alexander Gabrecht, Benjamin Meyer, Christoph Osterloh and Erik Maehle: Low-Power Low-Cost Acoustic Underwater Modem. In , Hrsg., Quantitative Monitoring of the Underwater Environment: Results of the International Marine Science and Technology Event MOQESM'14 in Brest, France, ser. Ocean Engineering & Oceanography . Springer, 2016.
• Christian Renner, Alexander J. Golkowski and Erik Maehle: Poster: Affordable Acoustic Modem for Small-Sized Autonomous Underwater Vehicles. In Proceedings of the International Conference on Embedded Wireless Systems and Networks, Graz, Austria, feb 2016.
• Benjamin Meyer, Christian Renner and Erik Maehle: Versatile Sensor and Communication Expansion Set for the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle MONSUN. In Proceedings of the 19th International Conference on Climbing and Walking Robots and Support Technologies for Mobile Machines, London, UK, sep 2016.