I-Corps: Underwater Optical Network Technologies

目前的水下通信方法涉及光纤、声学、感应调制解调器，或最近的高功率光链路。虽然光纤提供了高带宽，但它们昂贵、笨重、难以操纵和部署。此外，有线网络需要连接到某个中央供电实体，而这些实体只有在船上或岸上才能使用。这对于深海或长时间的水下作业来说并不理想。无线声学适用于低带宽应用，但由于信道容量相对有限，不能形成大型网络。此外，声学已被证明会干扰周围的生态系统。在这份提案中，该团队提出了光调制解调器模块(OMM)无线水下电信设备，允许在分布式水下网络中进行高速、低功率通信。OMM可以在没有任何布线的情况下运行，使用标准的深海电池通信长达一年以上。OMM技术的定位是满足用于亚中尺度监测(1公里区域)应用的低成本链路和密集网络中的高速串行数据传输方面的市场空白。海洋科学、工业和国防领域对海洋海洋监测系统产生了浓厚的兴趣。这种水下光网络技术引起了BP和埃克森美孚等油气行业、施密特海洋研究所和海洋天文台倡议等海洋科学组织、Macartney和McLane等海洋系统集成商以及BAE系统和L3通信等国防承包商的兴趣。示范产品和市场研究将量化海洋科学界在水下高速通过安全通道使用低功率进行通信的需求，与现有基础设施(如传感器或其他移动或浮动平台的系泊设备)对接。

Present methods for underwater communication involve fiber optics, acoustics, induction modems, or more recently, high-powered optical links. Although fiber optics provides high bandwidths, they are expensive, bulky, difficult to maneuver & deploy. Furthermore, wired networks require a connection to some central, powered entity which is only available in a boat or on-shore. This is not ideal for deep- ocean or prolonged underwater operations. Wireless acoustics are suitable for low-bandwidth applications, but they are not able to form large networks as the channel capacity is relatively limited. In addition, acoustics have been shown to be intrusive to the surrounding ecosystem. In this proposal, the team proposes the Optical Modem Module (OMM) wireless underwater telecommunications device that allows for high-speed, low power communication in a distributed underwater network. The OMM can operate free of any cabling, communicating for well over a year with a standard deep-sea battery.The OMM technology is positioned to meet a market void in high speed serial data transfer in low cost links and dense networks used in sub-mesoscale monitoring (1 km area) application. The OMM has gathered significant interest from ocean science, industry, and defense. This underwater optical network technology has gathered interest from oil & gas industries such as BP and ExxonMobil, ocean science organizations such as the Schmidt Ocean Institute and the Ocean Observatories Initiative, oceanic system integrators such as MacArtney and McLane, and defense contractors including BAE Systems and L3 Communications. The demonstration product and market research will quantify the ocean science community's need to communicate using low-power over a secure channel at high speeds underwater, interfacing with existing infrastructure such as sensors or moorings to other mobile or floating platforms.