Advances in Underwater Acoustic Networking

This chapter contains sections titled: Introduction Communication Architecture Basics of Underwater Communications Physical Layer Medium Access Control Layer Network Layer Cross-Layer Design Experimental Platforms UW-Buffalo: An Underwater Acoustic Testbed at the University at Buffalo.

Abstract

The objective of this chapter is to provide a comprehensive account of recent advances in underwater acoustic communications and networking. To do so, it briefly describes the typical communication architecture of an underwater network. The chapter discusses the key notions of underwater acoustic propagation and the state of the art in acoustic communication techniques at the physical layer. It presents the recent advances in protocol design at the medium access and network layers of the protocol stack. The chapter reviews the state of the art in medium access control protocols for underwater acoustic sensor networks (UW-ASNs), respectively. It describes the advances in cross-layer design techniques. Finally, it provides a detailed discussion of the existing underwater acoustic platforms for experimental evaluation of underwater networks. Controlled Vocabulary Terms Cross layer design; media access protocol; underwater acoustic communication; wireless sensor networks