SBIR Phase I: Megabit-Per-Second Underwater Wireless Communications

该项目更广泛的影响/商业潜力在于解决了进一步发展海底技术的长期障碍。今天，水下没有无线宽带通信。每个遥控潜水器都需要一条用于通信的系绳和一艘用于系绳管理的支援船。拟议中的调制解调器技术具有视频功能，将满足对系留和昂贵的支援船的需求。2013年，海底行业需要超过123，000个工作日，预计2017年将增加到至少140，000个工作日。2013年，一艘海军支援舰的成本约为12万美元/天，总计超过70亿美元。拟议中的视频调制解调器将出售给那些希望消除对海上支援船的需求以及70亿美元相关成本的制造商和运营商。拟议的调制解调器技术将远程操作的车辆和机械连接到有线基础设施，使重型海底机械能够安全操作，而不会使电缆或系绳缠结，造成损坏或更糟。该项目将在未来三年内创造10个新的就业机会，随着生产规模的扩大，还会增加更多的就业机会。 该小型企业创新研究（SBIR）第一阶段项目旨在为海底工业开发更快，更便宜，更可靠的无线通信系统。目前用于深海的最先进的通信链路要么是拴系的，需要长，笨重，昂贵的电缆来连接机器和系统，要么具有极低的数据速率，只能执行最基本的任务。拟议的水下无线通信系统将提供Mbps（兆比特/秒）范围内的数据速率-比现有的水下无线通信技术快1000倍-并实现视频流和对海底基础设施、机械和移动的水下航行器的实时控制。由于无线电信号不会在水下传播很远，因此拟议中的技术使用声波进行通信，就像鲸鱼和海豚一样。声速比无线电传播速度慢200，000倍，因此移动的声学发射器和接收器遭受严重的多普勒失真。所提出的技术动态地测量、跟踪和补偿这种失真，以实现前所未有的水下数据速率的无线通信。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this project lies in addressing a long-standing roadblock to the further development of undersea technology. Today, there is no wireless broadband communication available underwater. Each remotely operated vehicle requires a tether for communication and a support ship for tether management. The proposed modem technology is video-capable and would obviate the need for tethering and expensive support ships. In 2013, the subsea industry demanded more than 123,000 ROV days and these are expected to increase to at least 140,000 days in 2017. An ROV support ship costs about $120k/day totaling over $7B spent on ROV support ships in 2013. The proposed video-capable modems would be sold to ROV manufacturers and operators that want to eliminate the need for ROV support ships and much of the $7B in associated cost. The proposed modem technology connects remotely operated vehicles and machinery to wired infrastructure, enabling safe operation of heavy subsea machinery without the possibility of cables or tethers getting tangled, causing damage or worse. This project will create 10 new jobs in the next three years, with many more to be added as the production is scaled-up. This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project proposes to develop a faster, cheaper, more reliable wireless communication system for the sub-sea industry. Current state of the art communication links for the deep ocean are either tethered, requiring long, bulky, expensive cables to connect machinery and systems, or have extremely low data rates, enabling only the most rudimentary of tasks. The proposed underwater wireless communication system will provides data rates in the Mbps (megabits/sec) range - 1000 times faster than existing underwater wireless communication technologies - and enable video streaming and real-time control of subsea infrastructure, machinery, and mobile underwater vehicles. Since radio signals do not propagate far underwater, the proposed technology uses sound waves, as whales and dolphins do, for communication. The speed of sound is 200,000 times slower than the speed of radio propagation, and mobile acoustic transmitters and receivers hence suffer from severe Doppler distortion. The proposed technology dynamically measures, tracks, and compensates for this distortion, to enable wireless communication at data rates never before possible underwater.