Building an Underwater Wireless Sensor Network based on Optical Communication: Research Challenges and Current Results

In this paper current research for an Underwater Wireless Sensor Network based on optical communication between nodes is described. Radio Frequencies are strongly attenuated in water and optical communication can be considered as a feasible solution to explore as an alternative to acoustic communication in case of short-range distance. At the moment, our work focuses on an optical Physical Layer developed considering the characteristics of IEEE 802.11 Infrared Physical Layer and the compatibility with the current IEEE 802.15.4 protocol for terrestrial Wireless Sensor Networks. This approach, that allows the interface between the optical Physical Layer and the current terrestrial technology for Wireless Sensor Networks, is a first step that will be followed by works on upper layers. In this paper, the main research challenges and current results are illustrated. © 2009 IEEE.