Software-defined underwater acoustic networking platform

Abstract

Currently acoustics is the primary modality for underwater communication even though it presents a difficult channel. To try and cope with the challenges of the channel many MAC protocols and PHY layer techniques have been proposed. In this paper we present a research platform that allows developers to easily implement and compare their protocols in an underwater network and configure them at runtime. We have built our platform using widely supported software that has been successfully used in terrestrial radio and network development. The flexibility of development tools such as software defined radio have provided the ability for rapid growth in the community. Our platform adapts some of these tools to work well with the underwater environment while maintaining flexibility, ultimately providing an end-to-end networking approach for underwater acoustic development.