Toward Underwater Wireless Telemetry for Inland Waterways using Low Frequency Electromagnetic Communication

The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has developed an underwater wireless modem using low frequency (LF) electromagnetic communication with application to Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) and nondestructive evaluation (NDE) of partially submerged large civil infrastructure, such as navigational locks. Environmental constraints with commonly used underwater wireless communication techniques have motivated the investigation of electromagnetic telemetry. The ongoing research has resulted in an integrated hardware solution with current focus on software development, sensor integration, and deployment testing. Ultimately, the underwater telemetry modems are expected to provide a method for The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to improve data collection and process control for monitoring of structures in our navigable inland waterways. This paper highlights the recent and ongoing progress of the project and anticipates possible applications of the technology to other extreme environments.