2022 article
Evaluation of Low Power Wi-Fi Modules in Emulated Ocean Environments
2022 OCEANS HAMPTON ROADS.
author keywords: Wi-Fi; ESP8266; ESP32; underwater; communications; wireless power transfer
UN Sustainable Development Goal Categories
14. Life Below Water
(OpenAlex)
Source: Web Of Science
Added: March 13, 2023
The major problem acoustic underwater communication faces is the low data rate due to low signal frequency. By contrast, the Wi-Fi communication protocol offers high throughput, but limited operating range due to the attenuation effect of the sea and ocean medium. However, short-range near-field underwater wireless power transfer systems offer an environment where Wi-Fi communication can be effectively integrated to collect data and deliver instructions to sensors in underwater sensor networks. In this paper, low-power, low-cost off-the-shelf Wi-Fi modules are explored experimentally for four selected parameters for the different distances between units and different water salinities. The results reveal a shorter operating range and stronger dependence on water salinity than reported so far for high-end Wi-Fi modules.