Cellular Communications in Ocean Waves for Maritime Internet of Things

TLDR

Rapid advances in IoT and 5G technologies are transforming marine industry and research, while ocean sensor networks are improving our understanding of the sea, yet severe attenuation of radio waves by seawater and large ocean waves can block communication links between buoy sensors and shore-based cell towers. The study reviews the current state of Maritime IoT and investigates how ocean wave modeling can assess line‑of‑sight communication quality between buoy sensors and shore stations. The authors review MIoT technologies, model coastal and oceanic wave effects on line‑of‑sight radio propagation using real wave measurement data, and numerically evaluate a wave‑aware antenna design with proposed implementation solutions and hardware/protocol considerations. Numerical studies show that a wave‑aware antenna design improves line‑of‑sight communication, and the authors propose implementation solutions along with hardware and protocol considerations.

Abstract

The rapid advancement of Internet of Things (IoT) and fifth generation and beyond technologies is transforming the marine industry and research. Our understanding of the vast sea that covers 71% of the Earth's surface is being enhanced by the various ocean sensor networks equipped with effective communication technologies. In this article, we begin with a review of the research and development status-quo of Maritime IoT (MIoT) enabled by multiple wireless communication technologies. Then, we study the impact of sea waves on radio propagation and the communications link quality. Due to the severe attenuation of sea water to radio-frequency electromagnetic wave propagation, large ocean waves can easily block the communication link between a buoy sensor and a cell tower near shore. This article for the first time uses the ocean wave modeling of coastal and oceanic waters to examine the condition of line-of-sight communications. Real wave measurement data parameters are applied in the numerical evaluation of the developed model. Finally, the critical antenna design taking into account the wave impact is numerically studied with implementation solutions proposed, and the system hardware and protocol aspects are discussed.