Multimodal, Software Defined Networking for Subsea Sensing and Monitoring

The prevalence of oceanic industry and ocean borne interests has given rise to the concept of the Underwater Internet of Things as a vector for automation and data analytics in an environment hostile to anthropomorphic activity. Through the Internet of Underwater Things, it is theorised that sensors along the ocean floor or otherwise can be densely connected to the internet through wireless acoustic or optical links. However, both technologies have significant disadvantages that prevent either becoming a dominant technology. This project proposes a wireless software defined multimodal network infrastructure, that is proven using channel modelling and power analysis calculations, to be capable of robustly transmitting sensor data from source to sink by managing each technology according to its optimal environment. It was found that it is achievable to populate an opto-acoustic network in such a way that Successful Delivery Ratio becomes 90%-100% in clear water whilst achieving a 17% saving in overall energy consumption in a network mounted on a pipeline at 200 m depth when compared to a stand-alone equivalent acoustic network.