Application of Optical/Radio Hybrid Communication in Marine Operation

The article presents some aspects of wireless communication technologies for marine application. The main attention is paid on free space optics and optical/radio hybrid data links. It is shown that the development of optoelectronic technologies such as radiation sources and photodetectors in long-wave infrared spectral range makes it possible to construct a unique optical wireless communication. On the market, some such hybrid devices are already offered. They are configured as a radio data link with an optional optical one. This optical link operates at the infrared of near infrared (0.75-1.4 μm) or shortwave infrared (1.4-3.0 μm). However, operation in long-wave infrared spectral range is less sensitivity to atmosphere features (determined by visibility and scintillation index) and higher security of data transmission. That is why, it can be very useful in some special operation scenarios. In this paper, preliminary research of a developed model of optical/radio hybrid data link is described. Some analyses of its application in maritime applications is also discussed.