Advances in Undersea Communications

The process of undersea monitoring, mapping, and observation is experiencing major changes and advancements. The new paradigm is moving toward data collection and sensing operations using networks of autonomous platforms rather than platform centric and human-controlled sensing, processing and interpretation. A new command and control paradigm is called Nested Autonomy. It is implemented using MOOS-IvP architecture. This architecture is a set of open source c++ modules for providing autonomy in robotic platforms, including AUV technology. It provides fully integrated sensing, modeling, and control allowing each platform, either in collaboration or individually the opportunity to detect, classify, and track a human-created or natural event. It is then able to report back to the operator. The need for an underwater communication infrastructure is tantamount to the operations and robust functions of such communication networks. Because undersea communications are limited by bandwidth and the intermittency of underwater acoustic signal, such high priority events such as those that may indicate an underwater volcanic eruption, transmission to system operators needs to be delivered with out delay, while other less important data can be delayed. In the past communications underwater have not supported priority-based selectivity. MIT is currently working with a cooperative system using collaborative autonomy. Two AUVs are programmed to perform synchronized swimming patterns to maintain a constant angle relative to a target. They are also developing a new communication software that provides robust message handling for collaborative autonomous sensing. Collaboration has been achieved without the intervention of operators. Each vehicle varies its speed based on its current position and the position of the other vehicle. This new MOOS communication stack can be used in a wide range of military and civilian applications.