Advanced underwater acoustic networking and cooperation of multiple marine robots

In this paper we present the initial implementation of an advanced communication and networking solution that can enable the coordination and cooperation of autonomous mobile marine robots. To enable such a heterogeneous network three main research areas have been blended: 1) communications, 2) networking, and 3) decentralized cooperative localization and control. This paper focuses on the first two components and addresses the integration of the third one. Due to the challenges of the underwater environment, novel communication software and hardware have to be investigated to provide the level of flexibility and features that are required for efficient networking and robots cooperation. Robust and reliable distributed networking protocols have to be developed and implemented to enable an efficient sharing of data and control messages among heterogeneous surface and underwater platforms. Moreover, the combination of communications, networking and cooperative navigation has to be addressed in order to develop more capable, distributed and efficient underwater systems.