Undersea WiFi can be made faster, says researcher

September 3, 2007

As the United States and Canada take their first step toward establishing a cabled ocean observatory, a University of Missouri-Rolla researcher is trying to improve the speed of wireless underwater communication.

The same acoustic waves that dolphins and whales use to communicate when they are thousands of miles apart can be used by humans to transmit information wirelessly, says Dr. Rosa Zheng, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at UMR. Her research focuses on shallow water communications, a tool needed for environmental monitoring and other efforts. Shallow water communication is faced with additional challenges because signals are affected by waves and reflections off the ocean’s top and bottom surfaces.

“The amazing thing about acoustic signals is that the lower the frequency, the farther away it can travel,” Zheng explains. “The challenge is that acoustic waves have a very limited bandwidth. Our goal is to achieve very high reliability and a high data rate.”

Data transfer rates in current undersea communication systems are usually limited to a few kilobits per second, well below the megabits per second offered by radio frequency wireless communications. Zheng plans to use multi-input, multi-output (MIMO) technology -- a technique that leverages multiple paths and antennas -- to increase the data transfer rate to hundreds of kilobits per second.

“MIMO technology provides some challenges because you’re sending signals at the same time, using the same frequency band,” Zheng says. “Theory proves that it’s feasible, but we’re still trying to figure out how you separate those signals at the receiver.”

Zheng and her University of Missouri-Columbia collaborator have received a three-year, $270,000 award from the Office of Naval Research to fund their research.

Source: University of Missouri-Rolla


Rank 4 /5 (20 votes)
Tags

Relevant PhysicsForums posts
  • Vibration Absorbtion Problem
    created1 hour ago
  • Does anyone make a small high temperature and high pressure pump?
    created7 hours ago
  • Strange indexing in Fortran Code
    created18 hours ago
  • Car Port post load calculation
    created19 hours ago
  • attempting to spin-cast parabola
    createdFeb 07, 2012
  • Flow around a reducing bend - effect on pumping work
    createdFeb 06, 2012
  • More from Physics Forums - General Engineering

More news stories

Windows 8 preview set for February 29

Microsoft on Wednesday revealed plans to unveil a test version of its latest Windows computer operating software later this month.

Technology / Software

created 35 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 1

European Internet campaigners battle ACTA

A controversial international accord billed as a way to beat online piracy has sparked a fightback led by Internet users in ex-communist countries who say the region's past underlines the need to defend freedom.

Technology / Internet

created 36 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Washington Post offering buyout to news staff

The Washington Post announced a voluntary buyout for some newsroom staff on Wednesday, citing the difficult economic climate for the newspaper industry.

Technology / Business

created 24 minutes ago | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Solar start-ups set new efficiency records

(PhysOrg.com) -- Although Alta Devices and Semprius make different types of solar panels, both start-ups have been breaking records in the past few days. Santa Clara, Calif.-based Alta Devices announced that ...

Technology / Energy & Green Tech

created 11 hours ago | popularity 4.9 / 5 (10) | comments 8 | with audio podcast report

Scientists break satellite telephony security standards

Satellite telephony was thought to be secure against eavesdropping. German researchers at the Horst Gortz Institute for IT-Security (HGI) at the Ruhr University Bochum (RUB) have cracked the encryption algorithms of the European ...

Technology / Computer Sciences

created 6 hours ago | popularity 5 / 5 (2) | comments 0 | with audio podcast


Amasia: As next supercontinent forms, Arctic Ocean, Caribbean will vanish first

(PhysOrg.com) -- Geologists at Yale University have proposed a new theory to describe the formation of supercontinents, the epic process by which Earth’s major continental blocks combine into a single ...

New images capture 'stealth merger' of dwarf galaxies

New images of a nearby dwarf galaxy have revealed a dense stream of stars in its outer regions, the remains of an even smaller companion galaxy in the process of merging with its host. The host galaxy, known ...

Chandra finds Milky Way's black hole grazing on asteroids

(PhysOrg.com) -- The giant black hole at the center of the Milky Way may be vaporizing and devouring asteroids, which could explain the frequent flares observed, according to astronomers using data from NASA's ...

In scientific coup, Russians reach Antarctic lake

After more than two decades of drilling in Antarctica, Russian scientists have reached a gigantic freshwater lake hidden under miles of ice for some 20 million years - a pristine body of water that may hold ...

Phelps using hyperbaric chamber to aid recovery

(AP) -- Michael Phelps is the latest athlete to use a hyperbaric chamber to aid his recovery from training.

No anorexia emergency, La Scala ballerinas claim

The ballet company at Milan's famous La Scala opera house fought back Wednesday, after one of their leading dancers was fired for giving interviews in which she said the industry has an anorexia problem.