IMDEA Networks
The Throughput of Underwater Networks: Analysis and Validation
Paolo Casari, Senior Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Department of Information Engineering, University of Padova, Italy
External Presentation (IN Speaker)
In this talk, we discuss a theoretical framework to evaluate the throughput of underwater networks over an ensemble of node topologies and propagation environments. We start with a review of the properties of underwater acoustic communications. The probability of a successful transmission is then evaluated and employed to determine the maximum network throughput density over the transmitter density and the operating frequency. We emphasize which conclusions change with respect to radio networks when our theoretical model incorporates the different physics of underwater sound attenuation.
We validate the theoretical results using a realistic underwater channel simulator based on ray tracing, and demonstrate that the theoretical and simulated throughput match reasonably well, provided that the spreading-loss exponent is appropriately fitted to the simulation scenario.
Finally, we overview the evolution of the field experimentation activities carried out by our underwater research group, from simple feasibility tests, to full-fledged network protocol experiments in heterogeneous networks at sea.
About Paolo Casari
Paolo Casari received the PhD in Information Engineering in 2008 at the University of Padova, Italy, where he is currently a senior postdoctoral research fellow. He has been actively researching cross-layer protocol design for MIMO ad hoc networks and wireless sensor networks. After spending a period at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2007, he started working on underwater acoustic networks, which is currently his main focus. He has been the technical manager of the Italian projects WISE-WAI and NAUTILUS, and has been involved in several international collaborative projects on underwater acoustic networking. He served in the organizing committee of several conferences, and has been guest editor for the Hindawi Journal of Electronics and Computer Engineering special issue on “Underwater Communications and Networking.” His research interests include many aspects of underwater communications, such as channel modeling, network performance evaluation, cross-layer protocol design and at-sea experiments. He is a Senior Member of the IEEE.
This event will be conducted in English
Image: Luis Lima89989, Wikimedia Commons