Evaluating Acoustic Communication Performance of Micro AUV in Confined Space

Underwater acoustic communication is critical for many application scenarios of micro autonomous underwater vehicles (μAUVs). Knowing disturbances of acoustic communication is essential for the safe and efficient operation of μAUVs. This paper presents the experimental results of acoustic communication of μAUVs operating in confined space. Packet Reception Rate (PRR) and Bit Error Rate (BER) are evaluated while the μAUV is either stationary or moving. Major factors that impacts the acoustic communication are pinpointed and discussed. The experimental results show that the multipath effect interferes the synchronization signals of the acoustic modem. Path hopping due to the relative motion between the μAUV and the basestation causes inferior BER. Extra noise from the under-maintained thrusters also degrades the communication performance.