Underwater Wireless Electromagnetic/Radio Communication using Software Defined Radios

Underwater wireless communication is a very limiting factor for the usability of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) as well as many other underwater systems. AUVs could greatly benefit from a low-latency, omnidirectional, and easy-to-use communication method that has a modest data rate of at least a few Mbps and a range of at least 15 meters. This kind of communication method could provide AUVs with a data rate fast enough to transfer video, images, sonar scans, and other data to nearby vehicles and infrastructure. This paper demonstrates the creation of underwater wide-band dipole antennas along with an electromagnetic (EM) communication system using software defined radios (SDRs) and the open source srsRAN software. The system is then tested in a pool to determine its practical feasibility.