An underwater navigation system powered by sound

MIT News  November 2, 2020
Researchers at MIT have designed and demonstrated the first underwater backscatter localization (UBL) system. The networks communicate by simply backscattering acoustic signals. While such backscatter-based communication enables them to operate at net-zero power, it also introduces new and unique challenges for underwater localization. They explored various challenges for bringing localization to underwater backscatter, including extreme multipath, acoustic delay spread, and mobility. In the article they describe how an adaptive and context-aware algorithm may address some of these challenges and adapt to diverse underwater environments (such as deep vs shallow water, and high vs low mobility). They present a prototype implementation and evaluation of UBL in the Charles River in Boston and highlight open problems and opportunities for underwater backscatter localization in ocean exploration, marine-life sensing, and robotics…read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE