Abstract
A novel portable underwater acoustic modem is proposed in this paper for covert communication between divers or underwater unmanned vehicles (UUVs) and divers at a short distance. For the first time, real dolphin calls are used in the modem to realize biologically inspired Covert Underwater Acoustic Communication (CUAC). A variety of dolphin whistles and clicks stored in an SD card inside the modem helps to realize different biomimetic CUAC algorithms based on the specified covert scenario. In this paper, the information is conveyed during the time interval between dolphin clicks. TMS320C6748 and TLV320AIC3106 are the core processors used in our unique modem for fast digital processing and interconnection with other terminals or sensors. Simulation results show that the bit error rate (BER) of the CUAC algorithm is less than 10 when the signal to noise ratio is over ‒5 dB. The modem was tested in an underwater pool, and a data rate of 27.1 bits per second at a distance of 10 m was achieved.
Highlights
With the growing demand for marine development, underwater acoustic communication (UAC)and networks have been used in many fields, such as marine environmental monitoring, natural disaster warning, etc [1,2]
Based on the different modulation methods, the modems are divided into several categories including quadrature phase shift keying (QPSK) modems, frequency shift keying (FSK) modems, quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) modems, and so on
A compact and low power micro-modem [5] designed by WHOI has the capability to perform low-rate frequency-hopping frequency-shift keying (FH-FSK), variable rate phase-coherent keying (PSK) and long base line navigation
Summary
With the growing demand for marine development, underwater acoustic communication (UAC). Using simple UAC, transmitted messages are more vulnerable to being intercepted by the enemy and the location can be traced This calls for covert underwater acoustic communication which keeps the communication between divers highly secure and undetected by eavesdroppers. In the PBC micro-modem, we implemented a variety of bionic communication algorithms as described in [18,21,22] according to different types of dolphin and whale sounds. It brings a higher degree of algorithmic freedom for practical applications.
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
