A Static Multi-hop Underwater Wireless Sensor Network Using RF Electromagnetic Communications

Most underwater sensor networks choose acoustics as the medium for wireless transmission. However, electromagnetic waves also offer great merits for transmission in special underwater environment. A small scale wireless sensor network is deployed using electromagnetic waves with a multi-hop static topology under shallow water conditions where there is a high level of sediment and aeration in the water column. Data delivery is scheduled via daily cycles of sleeping and waking up to transmit. Due to the unique features of the network, ad-hoc on-demand distance vector (AODV) is chosen as the routing protocol. Modeling and simulations are conducted to evaluate network performance in terms of failure tolerance, congestion handling, and optimal grid arrangements. The results demonstrate the likely effectiveness of the designated network for this and similar scenarios.