IEEE Consumer Electronics Magazine - November/December 2021 - 34

Communications Technology
Table 1. Features of various technologies for underwater communication.
Parameter
Acoustic waves
Attenuation
Depend on distance and
frequency (0.1-4 dB/km)
Antenna size 0.1 m
Bandwidth
Data rate
Distance
Efficiency
Frequency
band
Latency
Performance
parameters
Transmission
power
Distance and frequency
dependent: 100 Hz-1 kHz
kb/s
RF waves
Depend on frequency and
conductivity (3.5-5 dB/m)
0.5 m
% MHz
Mb/s
Up to % 103mUp to % 10 m
% 100 b/J
-
1015 kHz
High
Temperature, salinity,
and pressure
Speed (m/s) 1,500 m/s
Tens of Watts (typical
value)
30-300 Hz
Moderate
Conductivity and
permittivity
% 2.255 108 m/s
Few mW to 100 of Watts
(distance dependent)
programmable) are low-power (up to 3.3 V or RS232)
devices used for different underwater applications,
such as pipeline monitoring, and marine
networking. Similarly, M64 WL-11003 modem,
underwater GPS kit WL-11001, AquaSense series
sensors (WL-21031-1) are also utilized for underwater
communication. The M64 modem (64 b/s/
200 kHz) is a low-power device operating in UART
115200 Bd with serial (3.3 V or R232) for distances
up to 200 m. Similarly, the Aqua sensor series
(WL-21031-1) includes oxygen-sensor, salinitysensor,
tilt-sensor, and load shackle are used for
sensing and communication in the marine
Optical waves
MI Waves
0.39 dB/m (ocean)-11 dB/
m (hazy water)
0.1 m
10-150 MHz
Gb/s
% 10-100 m
% 30,000 bits/Joules
1012-1015 Hz
Low
Absorption, scattering/
turbidity, organic matters
% 2.255 108 m/s
Few Watts
20 dB/m (Clean
water) and6dB/m
(ocean)
0.1 m - 0.3 m
% 100 kHz
Gb/s
% up to100 m
-
7 MHz/13.56 MHz
Very low
Conductivity and
permeability
3.33 108m/s
Few Watts
environment. The photoelectric sensors, such as
retro-reflectors (FE-MLS8C) and Thru-beam sensors
(MLS4B and MLS5B), are used for underwater
optical communication. Figure 2 shows some
of the smart devices used in IoUT networks.
CE for IoUT
Recent advancements in the CE industry have
enabled the underwater exploration a well of
thought. Each year, the Consumer Electronics
Show (CES) is arranged for those who thrive for
business in consumer technologies. The recent
edition of CES introduced many smart underwater
devices, such as autonomous cameras, Sublue
scooters, and remote-controlled drones,9
as
Figure 2. Various devices and sensors used for communication
in IoUT. (a) Aquacomm modem. (b) Retro-reflector (MLS4B).
(c) M64 modem. (d) Oxygen sensor. (e) Load shackle.
(f) Underwater locator.
34
depicted in Figure 3. These devices enable various
marine applications; for instance, the Navatics
Mito is a 4K camera with 1080p streaming
capability to record and stream effectively in an
underwater environment.10 It has a built-in stabilization
quadrotor and a downloadable on recovery
capability with a battery life of up to 4 h.
Consequently, Robosea's Biki is a flying underwater
drone that used for underwater surveillance,
exploration, and photography. It is operated with
the help of a smartphone application on the
water surface. Robosea's Biki has the capability
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