Title
Performance Analysis of Hybrid Optical-Acoustic AUV Swarms for Marine Monitoring.
Abstract
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are assuming an important role in the monitoring and mapping of marine ecosystems, especially for their ability to explore harsh environments. AUV swarm can collect data operating autonomously for long periods enabling new applications in this field. However, the mission duration is usually limited also by the high power consumption required for acoustic transmissions. A new generation of devices complements the acoustic modem with an optical modem that can provide a communication channel with higher capacity and lower power consumption with respect to the acoustic channel. However, the optical link that uses the visible light is very sensitive to the water turbidity that can strongly limit the link coverage. In this paper, we evaluate the networking performances of the Venus vessel, a real AUV prototype equipped with an acoustical modem and an optical modem. The presented analysis aims to evaluate key system parameters allowing to select the best way to set up network communications according to the surrounding conditions (e.g., quality of water) and to the application requirements. Simulation results account for the case of ports or basins, where the water quality is poor and the use of the optical modem is strongly limited by distance. We evaluate system performance in terms of transmission delay in the network and we also provide a power-capacity trade-off.
Year
DOI
Venue
2018
10.3390/fi10070065
FUTURE INTERNET
Keywords
Field
DocType
underwater,hybrid optical-acoustic communication,AUV
Optical link,Acoustic modem,Port (computer networking),Swarm behaviour,Computer science,Transmission delay,Communication channel,Computer network,Real-time computing,Power consumption,Underwater
Journal
Volume
Issue
ISSN
10
7
1999-5903
Citations 
PageRank 
References 
0
0.34
5
Authors
4
Name
Order
Citations
PageRank
Chiara Lodovisi110.71
Pierpaolo Loreti29318.75
Lorenzo Bracciale36811.88
Silvello Betti413.08