Title :
Underwater short range free space optical communication for a robotic swarm
Author :
Fung, Yu Fai ; Dai, Mingjun ; Ercan, M. Fikret
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. Eng., Hong Kong Polytech. Univ., Hong Kong
Abstract :
Communication mechanism is a major design concern for a robotic swarm, as robots exchange data frequently in order to achieve a collective behavior. Communication using radio frequency (RF) is common if the swarm is land based, however, if the swarm operates underwater then a different form of communication mechanism is needed. In this paper, we discuss the implementation of a short-range communication mechanism based on free space optics for a swarm of robot operating underwater. In order to optimize the communication throughput, a multi-channel design is adopted, therefore, a robot can broadcast data to its peers simultaneously and this is based on a processor that supports parallel computing. Our experimental results show that using a 50 mW semiconductor laser, a transfer rate of 110 Kbps or higher can be achieved; however, transmission quality depends on the clarity and the conditions of the environment.
Keywords :
marine communication; mobile robots; multi-robot systems; optical communication; optical links; communication mechanism; multichannel design; parallel computing; robotic swarm; semiconductor laser; underwater short range free space optical communication; Broadcasting; Design optimization; Optical fiber communication; Orbital robotics; Parallel processing; Parallel robots; Peer to peer computing; Radio frequency; Throughput; Underwater communication; Robotic swarm; free space optical communication; parallel processing;
Conference_Titel :
Autonomous Robots and Agents, 2009. ICARA 2009. 4th International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Wellington
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2712-3
Electronic_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2713-0
DOI :
10.1109/ICARA.2000.4804030