High-Bandwidth Underwater Wireless Communication Using a Swarm of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles

Abstract

We present a new method for underwater wireless communication with high bandwidth and over long distance. A swarm of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) is used to relay an optical signal between two points at any distance. Each vehicle is equipped with multiple attitude stabilization systems to reach the required pointing and tracking accuracy for optical communication. This technology would enable fast and efficient underwater exploration which is highly needed as only 5% of the world’s oceans have been explored so far. We carried out an experimental proof of concept to show that it is possible to relay an optical signal underwater between two points using a swarm of AUVs. The experiment took place in a 2m deep water tank. We modified and controlled two submarine models to reflect the laser beam stemming from a laser pointer at the bottom of the tank to the desired location. To know their positions, we developed an image processing technique which required the setup of a RF communication link at 315Mhz between the computers processing the camera’s videos and the units.