Postgraduate Conference Abstract

Communications & Signal Processing

Neasham, Jeff. (YEAR 5)

An Acoustic Communication Link for UUVs - Development and Testing

Supervisor: Oliver Hinton

Abstract
Unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) are becoming an increasingly important tool in the offshore industry. At the PGC99 event, experimental results were presented which demonstrated the feasibility of high bit rate acoustic communication between a subsea vehicle and a surface vessel. Since then a prototype system for UUV control and data retrieval has been built and tested in the North Sea. This paper discusses the specification, hardware/software development and test results from the above system. Recent work towards a commercial product is also highlighted.