Internet of Underwater Things: A Survey on Simulation Tools and 5G-Based Underwater Networks

Abstract

The term “Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT)” refers to a network of intelligent interconnected underwater devices designed to monitor various underwater activities. The IoUT allows for a network of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) to communicate with each other, sense their surroundings, collect data, and transmit them to control centers on the surface at typical Internet speeds. These data serve as a valuable resource for various tasks, including conducting crash surveys, discovering shipwrecks, detecting early signs of tsunamis, monitoring animal health, obtaining real-time aquatic information, and conducting archaeological expeditions. This paper introduces an additional set of alternative simulation tools for underwater networks. We categorize these tools into open-source and licensed simulator options and recommend that students consider using open-source simulators for monitoring underwater networks. There has not been widespread deployment or extensive research on underwater 5G-based networks. However, simulation tools provide some general insights into the challenges and potential issues associated with evaluating such networks, based on the characteristics of underwater communication and 5G, by surveying 5G-based underwater networks and 5G key aspects addressed by the research community in underwater network systems. Through an extensive review of the literature, we discuss the architecture of both Internet of Underwater application-assisted AUVs and Internet of Underwater Things communications in the 5G-based system.