Internet of underwater things communication: Architecture, technologies, research challenges and future opportunities

Abstract

Recently, the Internet of things (IoT) paradigm has proliferated all aspect of life. The improvements IoT has made in business and industry has raised the possibility of extending its use to underwater environments, which also impacts human life. Consequently, Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) research is intensifying. As in IoT, to deploy a successful application in IoUT, an optimal communication network is required. However, underwater environments pose unique technical challenges for setting up such networks. The aim of these networks is to achieve optimal performance required for efficient and reliable transmission within IoUT. Communication is the lifeline of a network and involves the transmission of information along a medium or path. Thus, it is critical to understand the impact of underwater environment on IoUT communication. Overall, IoUT communication utilizes underwater and terrestrial equipment. We focus on underwater communication where the medium is water and information is transmitted as acoustic/sound signals. With respect to physical, Medium Access Control (MAC) and network layers, we investigate issues associated with designing optimal IoUT networks. The underwater ecosystem varies spatially with time so, knowledge of prevailing underwater regional profiles at any time is essential. Profiles enable the construction of necessary constraints that affect optimized performance of IoUT networks. We analyze the constraints imposed by different regional profiles of underwater ecosystem and their impact on optimal IoUT communication. These constraints affect performance goals required for successful IoUT network deployment. The analysis is useful for developing state-of-the-art IoUT communication strategies based on stochastic optimization models.