Acoustic Communications 2011 Experiment: Deployment Support and Post Experiment Data Handling and Analysis

Abstract : A high performance, versatile, and reliable underwater communications capability is of strategic importance to the U.S. Navy. Operational scenarios involving the use, monitoring, and coordination of multiple undersea assets, both manned and unmanned and mobile and fixed, are significantly enhanced by the ability to communicate quickly, reliably, in a wide range of environmental conditions, and with minimal constraints on the actions of the platforms involved. The long-term goal of the effort in underwater acoustic communications is to integrate research in the areas of physical oceanography, ocean acoustics, signal processing, and communications theory to 1. develop a underwater communications capability that can be deployed on and used by a wide range of platforms with minimal required external infrastructure and which achieves reliable and high performance under a wide range of environmental and operational conditions, and 2. develop an communications performance prediction capability that enables commanders to reliably predict the performance of deployed communications systems as a function of environmental conditions and the location, velocity, and capabilities of the deployed assets.