Simulation of underwater acoustic networks

Underwater acoustic networks have a large range of possible civilian and military applications.Due to the complexity of the underwater acoustic channel,establishing underwater acoustic networks requires considerable human and material resources.The performance of an underwater acoustic network could be predicted through techniques simulating the network,but there has been no network simulation software specifically designed for the underwater acoustic environment.This paper presents underwater acoustic network simulation software based on an acoustic propagation model.A special underwater acoustic communication physical layer was proposed to permit bit-level simulation.The channel module used ray theory,allowing the acoustic environment to be predicted and simulated.Stand-alone or multi-machine distributed simulations can be flexibly implemented,and an interface was provided that allows users to set the simulation environment's parameters.In addition,modules can be added according to user-specific requirements.These could include ones allowing,among possible functions,the detection of moving targets in the sea.