MRI: SEANet: Development of a Software-Defined Networking Testbed for the Internet of Underwater Things

该项目开发了新一代软件定义的水声调制解调器和网络测试平台SEANet，使水下通信实现了飞跃。SEANet试验平台是该领域的一项重大发展，它提供了：-完全可重构的调制解调器，具有比现有技术更高的数据速率和灵活性;-现有技术无法提供的复杂通信和网络原语。尽管水声网络技术已成为大多数海上商业和军事活动的关键，但目前它只能支持大多数点对点、低数据速率、延迟容忍的应用。因此，这项技术仍处于起步阶段。商用声学调制解调器使用的信令方案通常在水平链路上以1 km的链路距离实现20 kHz/s。正在开发的仪器将由SEANet调制解调器组成，通过东北大学海洋科学中心的NU-MONET网络与地面互联网互连。与现有的商业调制解调器固有地基于固定和不灵活的硬件不同，SEANet将围绕新一代Zynq片上系统架构板构建，可重新配置的设计支持完全软件定义的通信&网络功能，克服了缺乏灵活性的限制现有商业&实验平台在快速变化的水声信道中的能力;- SEANet将提供一套新开发的跨层平台-独立的协议开发抽象，供学生和研究人员使用，以快速原型化新协议和传输方案;- 联网协议和传输方案将是基于上述抽象的软件定义的，但在运行时由可重新配置的灵活处理硬件执行;- SEANet将被赋予定制设计的超宽带微机电（MEMS）换能器，这将允许调制解调器在更宽的声学带宽上传输（即，= 2MHz）。因此，SEANet将能够以比当前商业和实验平台中使用的可实现的最先进的体压电换能器更低的功耗运行，并且在200米范围链路上达到500兆比特/秒的速率，并且在更短范围链路（~ 50米）上达到Mbit/s的速率。更广泛的影响：该仪器为大学和整个研究界提供了在现场安装中进行数据收集的独特能力。它还为水下研究界提供了一个实验平台，将有助于推进水下联网的研究活动。这一发展直接支持了该机构在通信，网络，安全，机器人和海洋科学方面的研究活动。该平台将广泛宣传，并提供给美国学术界。该试验台将成为本科生和研究生的独特研究和培训设施，为少数民族科学家和专业人士提供水下信号处理，通信，网络和系统设计方面的系统设计技能培训。

This project, developing SEANet, a new-generation software-defined underwater acoustic modem and a networking testbed, enables a leap forward in underwater communication. The SEANet testbed constitutes a game-changing development in the field, as it provides:- Fully reconfigurable modems with much higher data rates and flexibility than currently available and- Sophisticated communication and networking primitives unavailable with the current technology.Although underwater acoustic networking technology has become key to most commercial and military activities at sea, currently it can only support mostly point-to-point, low-data-rate, delay-tolerant applications. Hence this technology remains in its infancy. Commercial acoustic modems use signaling schemes that often achieve 20 kilobit/s with a link distance of one km over horizontal links. The instrument under development would be composed of SEANet modems interconnected with terrestrial Internet through the NU-MONET network at the NEU Marine Science Center. Unlike existing commercial modems that are inherently based on fixed and inflexible hardware, - SEANet will be built around a new-generation Zynq System-on-Chip architecture board, with reconfigurable design supporting fully software-defined communication & networking functionalities, overcoming the lack of flexibility that limits the capabilities of existing commercial & experimental platforms in the fast-varying underwater acoustic channel; - SEANet will provide a set of newly-developed cross-layer platform-independent protocol development abstractions to be used by students and researchers to rapidly prototype new protocols and transmission schemes; - Networking protocols and transmission schemes will be software-defined based on abstractions discussed above, but hardware-executed by reconfigurable flexible processing hardware at runtime; - SEANet will be endowed with custom-designed ultra-wide band micro-electromechanical (MEMS) transducers that will allow the modem to transmit over much wider acoustic bandwidths (i.e., = 2 MHz) than currently available existing modems. As a result SEANet will be able to operate at lower power consumption than achievable state-of-the-art bulk piezoelectric transducers used in current commercial and experiment platforms, and reach rates in the order of 500 kilobit/s over 200 in range links and Mbit/s rates shorter range links (~ 50 m). Broader Impacts: The instrumentation provides the university and overall research community with unique capabilities for data collection in field installations. It also provides the underwater research community with an experimental platform that will be instrumental in advancing research activities in underwater networking. This development directly supports the research activities in communications, networking, security, robotics, and marine science at the institution. The platform will be broadly advertised and made available to the US academic community. The testbed will become a unique research and training facility for undergraduate and graduate students, offering to train minority scientists and professionals with system design skills in underwater signal processing, communications, networking, and system design.