The goal of this project is to achieve high-bandwidth underwater wireless communication using a flock of small Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) that relay a laser beam from the seabed to the surface of the ocean. The approach is advanced control of specially-designed AUVs, along with prediction of ocean currents, so that each AUV unit can reliably receive the signal from a unit at a lower depth, amplify the signal and send it to the next unit above, until the signal reaches the surface where it can easily reach satellites and hence anywhere in the world. Underwater wireless data communication is one of the most important outstanding problems in ocean engineering, impeding nearly all major research expeditions and inhibiting industrial development. This is because radio waves are heavily absorbed by water (e.g. no cell phones, Wi-Fi, or Global Positioning System (GPS) underwater), and acoustic waves have low data-transfer rates. A real-time seabed monitoring technology, as proposed here, gives researchers and engineers a novel and unique tool to carefully perform, watch, and assess deep ocean explorations and operations.
The key technical objective is to demonstrate the first proof-of-concept of wireless high-bandwidth underwater data communication via a flock of AUVs. Maximum range (minimum absorption) of electromagnetic waves in water is obtained for visible light. Therefore, pointing precision and agility of AUV units are the key challenges to success. The proposed controlled swarm motion uses a hierarchical control architecture comprising a combination of centralized and decentralized controllers to maximize the communication line's autonomy, reliability, and robustness. The fabricated AUV units feature a three-layer stabilization system that provides the needed agility, attitude accuracy, and stability for each unit.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
