EAGER: MEMS Co-Steered Optical and Acoustic Dual Modal Communication and Ranging Devices for Underwater Vehicles

自主式水下机器人(AUV)在基础设施检测与维护、搜救、环境监测、海洋考古、石油钻探与管道检测、国防等领域具有重要的应用价值。然而，今天S AUV面临的一个重大而根本性的挑战是水下环境中的沟通和感知。传统设备体积庞大，在测距/测绘任务中空间分辨率较低。声学通信速度很慢。基于激光的通信可以实现高速，但需要直射光线。因此，没有一种有效的方法来紧密协调一群AUV。本项目的目标是开发一种基于MEMS(微机械系统)的小型化双模式声纳和光检测与测距组合装置，称为光声通信和测距(Pair)装置。这对设备既可用作双频网络适配器，也可用作声纳和激光雷达的组合，但占用空间小得多，信号配准效果更好。通过使用新型MEMS扫描镜和超声换能器，以及先前展示的独特机械和光学特性，这对设备可以以同中心和同方向的方式同时发送和接收声音和激光信号。

Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are very important tools for many applications, including infrastructure inspection and maintenance, search and rescue, environmental monitoring, maritime archaeology, oil drilling and pipeline inspection, and defense. However, a significant and fundamental challenge faced by today?s AUVs is communication and perception in the underwater environment. Traditional devices are bulky and have low spatial resolution in ranging/mapping tasks. Acoustic communication is slow in speed. Laser-based communication can achieve high speed, but requires direct light of sight. Therefore, there is no effective way to tightly coordinate a group of AUVs.The objective of this project is to develop a miniaturized dual-modal Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS)-based Sound Navigation And Ranging (sonar) and Light Detection And Ranging (LiDAR) combo device, named as oPtical and Acoustic communication and Ranging (PAIR) device. The PAIR device functions as both a dual band network adapter and a combination of sonar and LiDAR but with a much smaller footprint and better signal registration. Enabled by the use of a novel MEMS scanning mirror and ultrasound transducerwith unique mechanical and optical properties previously demonstrated, the PAIR devices can simultaneously transmit and receive both sound and laser signals in a co-centered and co-directional fashion.