Underwater Visible Light and Camera Communication

Abstract

Much of underwater wireless communication, so far, has been attributed to the use of acoustic frequencies due to the significantly low absorption than radio frequencies (RF). Ongoing advances in using light for communication through the concept of visible light communication (VLC) make optical wireless relevant to advancing the state--of--the-- art in underwater wireless communication systems. The optical spectrum presents a favorable mode for communicating underwater due to the low signal absorption levels, particularly in the ultraviolet, violet, blue and green wavelengths. Prior work in underwater VLC has largely been theoretical and this research takes a radical high-risk approach to develop empirical models for underwater VLC across real-world configurations and settings. The research takes a transformative approach and explores photo-acoustic hybrid communication in which acoustic and optical wireless communication modes co-exist and complement each other. Photo-acoustic underwater communication modalities can help advance plethora of applications including underwater navigation, exploration, sensing and tactical communications. This research advances the field of underwater networking by bridging the knowledge gap in building realistic underwater photo-acoustic systems through extensive experimentation in real-world conditions and creates a rich open public dataset. This research maintains a strategic collaboration with the Gwinnett County Water Innovation Center near Atlanta, Georgia, thus expanding the outreach of this work and advancing underwater research using advanced facilities. In addition to dissemination of research outcomes through publications, the research involves female student groups from the university Girls-Who-Code (GWC) chapter in underwater research data collection and experiments.

Personnel

Principal Investigators

• Dr. Ashwin Ashok, Assistant Professor in the Dept. of CS, Georgia State University

Students

• AbdulHaseeb Ahmed, M.S. Thesis Candidate, Georgia State University
• Sethuraman TV, M.S Thesis Candidate, Georgia State University
• Sathwik Chowda, M.S. Project Candidate, Georgia State University
• MD Rashed Rahman, Ph.D. Candidate, Georgia State University
• Khadija Ashraf, Ph.D. Candidate, Georgia State University

NSF REU Students and UG Research Assistants

• Shardul Vaidya, REU, B.S in CS, Georgia State University (starting M.S. in CS from Fall 2021)
• Kehinde Adedara, REU, B.S. in CS, Georgia State University (graduating in summer 2021)
• Melanie Gipson, REU, B.S. in CS, Georgia State University (senior from Fall 2021)
• Razat Sutradhar, REU, B.S. in CS, Georgia State University (senior from Fall 2021)
• Jarred Cain, UG Research Assistant, B.S. in CS and Honors Thesis candidate, Georgia State University (senior from Fall 2021)
• Tony Lu, U.G. Research Assistant, B.S. in CS (sophomore from Fall 2021)
• Jiyoung Yoon, U.G Research Assistant, B.S. in CS (senior from fall 2021)

Research Direction

The major research objectives of this project are to:

Thrust 1 - Empirical Modeling of Underwater VLC Channels. This thrust focuses on extensive underwater channel modeling experimentation and data collection in lab and real-world underwater sites. The data points are used to perform empirical modeling of underwater VLC channels along various spatial dimensions (horizontal, vertical, line-of-sight, non line-of-sight), along different physical parameters (salinity, turbidity, temperature and oiliness), and in mobile scenarios.

Thrust 2 - Photo-Acoustic Underwater Communication Feasibility Studies. This thrust focuses on the feasibility of integrating the hardware and software of optical wireless (UV and VLC), with acoustic systems. The research conducts experiments across different use-cases for photo-acoustic communication and sensing, particularly for navigation and tracking and device-device communication. In summary, the key outcomes of this research include empirical models for underwater VLC channels, insights from photo-acoustic communication feasibility experimental studies and open datasets for underwater VLC.

Educational and Outreach Activities

1. Generation of a repository of underwater VLC and Camera communication datasets from experiments and data collection efforts conducted in this research.

2. Partnership with Gwinnett country Water Innovation Center (Water Tower) on creation of infrastructure for underwater communication, sensing and robotics research and education.

3. Collaboration with research group at Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) on acoustic and optical wireless networking research, involving deployment of VLC nodes in Norwegian waters.

Publications

Coming Soon

Code and Data

Coming Soon

Collaborators

1. Dr. Melissa Meeker, Director of Georgia Gwinett County Water Innovation Tower, USA

2. Dr. Damiano Varagnolo and Dr. Hefeng Dong, Faculty at Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

Funding

This work has been supported by the National Science Foundation (NSF) under the grant EAGER: Experimental Characterization of Underwater Visible Light Channels for Photo-Acoustic Underwater Communication (CNS-2000475) and REU Supplement (CNS-2031872)