Practical Coding-based Multi-Hop Reliable Data Transfer for underwater acoustic networks

In this paper, we investigate reliable data transfer for multi-hop underwater acoustic networks. Motivated by experiences from real-world field tests, we propose a Practical Coding-based Multi-hop Reliable Data Transfer (PCMRDT) protocol. For the per-hop reliable data transfer, PCMRDT combines random linear coding and selective repeat to achieve high reliability and efficiency. We analyze the data recovery capability for random linear coding so that we can set an appropriate coding rate. In addition, PCMRDT utilizes a multi-hop coordination mechanism to eliminate collisions and decreases average end-to-end delay over multiple hops. Simulation results show that PCMRDT can significantly reduce the network delay with high energy efficiency.