A Low Power, Low Cost, Underwater Optical Communication System

C ommunicating with seafloor sensors is a fundamental need in marine science and particularly for deep submergence science (Seyfried et al., 2000). To facilitate this vital requirement, we have developed an optical communication system that can operate over the range of a few meters underwater. An optical communication system offers many intriguing opportunities for communicating with multiple devices, and allows two-way communications as well as use on a variety of platforms such as submersibles and ROVs. It is also feasible that an optical communication system could be used on an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) to communicate with seafloor instruments during a “fly-by” mission without the need for docking.