High data rate acoustic telemetry for moving ROVs in a fading multipath shallow water environment

A compact telemetry system for digital data telemetry at rates up to 10 kb/s over 1 to 10 km is presented. The system is designed for worst-case ocean acoustic channel conditions, and operates in the presence of source/receiver motion, fading, and multiple transmission paths. In addition, the system incorporates spatial diversity by utilizing multiple hydrophones and data processing subsystems. This allows much more reliable operation under realistic circumstances where noise events and transducer masking are unavoidable. The result is a system specifically geared toward use at sea with a remotely operated vehicle (ROV). Preliminary dockside test results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of this multichannel system.<
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