Information-Centric Design and Implementation for Underwater Acoustic Networks

Over the past decade, Underwater Acoustic Networks (UANs) have received extensive attention due to their vast benefits in academia and industry alike. However, due to the overall magnitude and harsh characteristics of underwater environments, standard wireless network techniques will fail because current technology and energy restrictions limit underwater devices due to delayed acoustic communications. To help manage these limitations we utilize Information-Centric Networking (ICN). More importantly, we look at ICN\u27s paradigm shift from traditional TCP/IP architecture to improve data handling and enhance network efficiency. By utilizing some of ICN\u27s techniques, such as data naming hierarchy, we can reevaluate each component of the network\u27s protocol stack given current underwater limitations to study the vast solutions and perspectives Information-Centric architectures can provide to UANs. First, we propose a routing strategy used to manage and route large data files in a network prone to high mobility. Therefore, due to UANs limited transmitting capability, we passively store sensed data and adaptively find the best path. Furthermore, we introduce adapted Named Data Networking (NDN) components to improve upon routing robustness and adaptiveness. Beyond naming data, we use tracers to assist in tracking stored data locations without using other excess means such as flooding. By collaborating tracer consistency with routing path awareness our protocol can adaptively manage faulty or high mobility nodes. Through this incorporation of varied NDN techniques, we are able to see notable improvements in routing efficiency. Second, we analyze the effects of Denial of Service (DoS) attacks on upper layer protocols. Since UANs are typically resource restrained, malicious users can advantageously create fake traffic to burden the already constrained network. While ICN techniques only provide basic DoS restriction we must expand our detection and restriction technique to meet the unique demands of UANs. To provide enhanced security against DoS we construct an algorithm to detect and restrict against these types of attacks while adapting to meet acoustic characteristics. To better extend this work we incorporate three node behavior techniques using probabilistic, adaptive, and predictive approaches for detecting malicious traits. Thirdly, to depict and test protocols in UANs, simulators are commonly used due to their accessibility and controlled testing aspects. For this section, we review Aqua-Sim, a discrete event-driven open-source underwater simulator. To enhance the core aspect of this simulator we first rewrite the current architecture and transition Aqua-Sim to the newest core simulator, NS-3. Following this, we clean up redundant features spread out between the various underwater layers. Additionally, we fully integrate the diverse NS-3 API within our simulator. By revamping previous code layout we are able to improve architecture modularity and child class expandability. New features are also introduced including localization and synchronization support, busy terminal problem support, multi-channel support, transmission range uncertainty modules, external noise generators, channel trace-driven support, security module, and an adapted NDN module. Additionally, we provide extended documentation to assist in user development. Simulation testing shows improved memory management and continuous validity in comparison to other underwater simulators and past iterations of Aqua-Sim

Underwater Acoustic Modems

© 2016 IEEE. Personal use of this material is permitted. Permission from IEEE must be obtained for all other uses, in any current or future media, including reprinting/republishing this material for advertising or promotional purposes, creating new collective works, for resale or redistribution to servers or lists, or reuse of any copyrighted component of this work in other works.Due to the growing interest using underwater acoustic networks, there are more and more research papers about underwater communications. These papers are mainly focused on deployments and studies about the constraints of the underwater medium. The underwater acoustic channel is highly variable and the signal transmission can change according to environmental factors such as the temperature, pressure or salinity of the water. For this reason, it is important to know how these devices are developed and the maximum distance and data transfer rates they can achieve. To this end, this paper presents an exhaustive study of existing underwater acoustic modems where their main features are highlighted. We also review the main features of their hardware. All presented proposals in the research literature are compared with commercial underwater acoustic modems. Finally, we analyze different programs and improvements of existing network simulators that are often used to simulate and estimate the behavior of underwater networks.This work was supported by the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovacion through the Plan Nacional de I+D+i 2008-2011 within the Subprograma de Proyectos de Investigacion Fundamental under Project TEC2011-27516. The associate editor coordinating the review of this paper and approving it for publication was Dr. Lei Shu. (Corresponding author: Jaime Lloret.)Sendra, S.; Lloret, J.; Jimenez, JM.; Parra-Boronat, L. (2015). Underwater Acoustic Modems. IEEE Sensors Journal. 16(11):4063-4071. https://doi.org/10.1109/JSEN.2015.2434890S40634071161

Internet of Underwater Things and Big Marine Data Analytics -- A Comprehensive Survey

The Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) is an emerging communication ecosystem developed for connecting underwater objects in maritime and underwater environments. The IoUT technology is intricately linked with intelligent boats and ships, smart shores and oceans, automatic marine transportations, positioning and navigation, underwater exploration, disaster prediction and prevention, as well as with intelligent monitoring and security. The IoUT has an influence at various scales ranging from a small scientific observatory, to a midsized harbor, and to covering global oceanic trade. The network architecture of IoUT is intrinsically heterogeneous and should be sufficiently resilient to operate in harsh environments. This creates major challenges in terms of underwater communications, whilst relying on limited energy resources. Additionally, the volume, velocity, and variety of data produced by sensors, hydrophones, and cameras in IoUT is enormous, giving rise to the concept of Big Marine Data (BMD), which has its own processing challenges. Hence, conventional data processing techniques will falter, and bespoke Machine Learning (ML) solutions have to be employed for automatically learning the specific BMD behavior and features facilitating knowledge extraction and decision support. The motivation of this paper is to comprehensively survey the IoUT, BMD, and their synthesis. It also aims for exploring the nexus of BMD with ML. We set out from underwater data collection and then discuss the family of IoUT data communication techniques with an emphasis on the state-of-the-art research challenges. We then review the suite of ML solutions suitable for BMD handling and analytics. We treat the subject deductively from an educational perspective, critically appraising the material surveyed.Comment: 54 pages, 11 figures, 19 tables, IEEE Communications Surveys & Tutorials, peer-reviewed academic journa

Mobile Undersea Routing Protocol

The myriad barriers to underwater communication provide a new set of challenges for network protocols. Routing protocols which operate in underwater ad hoc networks must react quickly to changing conditions without significant increase in packet overhead or congestion. Dynamic Source Routing Protocol provides a framework for accomplishing these goals. In this paper we present the Mobile Undersea Routing Protocol, which implements this framework and enhances upon it. It uses a limited propagating route request which we call a Route Recovery to quickly and inexpensively recover from routing errors. A Java based network simulator was constructed in order to test and compare the protocols. Statistics were calculated based on packets delivered, total transmissions, and time to recover from a route error as measurements of protocol effectiveness

Contribution to Research on Underwater Sensor Networks Architectures by Means of Simulation

El concepto de entorno inteligente concibe un mundo donde los diferentes tipos de dispositivos inteligentes colaboran para conseguir un objetivo común. En este concepto, inteligencia hace referencia a la habilidad de adquirir conocimiento y aplicarlo de forma autónoma para conseguir el objetivo común, mientras que entorno hace referencia al mundo físico que nos rodea. Por tanto, un entorno inteligente se puede definir como aquel que adquiere conocimiento de su entorno y aplicándolo permite mejorar la experiencia de sus habitantes. La computación ubicua o generalizada permitirá que este concepto de entorno inteligente se haga realidad. Normalmente, el término de computación ubicua hace referencia al uso de dispositivos distribuidos por el mundo físico, pequeños y de bajo precio, que pueden comunicarse entre ellos y resolver un problema de forma colaborativa. Cuando esta comunicación se lleva a cabo de forma inalámbrica, estos dispositivos forman una red de sensores inalámbrica o en inglés, Wireless Sensor Network (WSN). Estas redes están atrayendo cada vez más atención debido al amplio espectro de aplicaciones que tienen, des de soluciones para el ámbito militar hasta aplicaciones para el gran consumo. Esta tesis se centra en las redes de sensores inalámbricas y subacuáticas o en inglés, Underwater Wireless Sensor Networks (UWSN). Estas redes, a pesar de compartir los mismos principios que las WSN, tienen un medio de transmisión diferente que cambia su forma de comunicación de ondas de radio a ondas acústicas. Este cambio hace que ambas redes sean diferentes en muchos aspectos como el retardo de propagación, el ancho de banda disponible, el consumo de energía, etc. De hecho, las señales acústicas tienen una velocidad de propagación cinco órdenes de magnitud menor que las señales de radio. Por tanto, muchos algoritmos y protocolos necesitan adaptarse o incluso rediseñarse. Como el despliegue de este tipo de redes puede ser bastante complicado y caro, se debe planificar de forma precisa el hardware y los algoritmos que se necesitan. Con esta finalidad, las simulaciones pueden resultar una forma muy conveniente de probar todas las variables necesarias antes del despliegue de la aplicación. A pesar de eso, un nivel de precisión adecuado que permita extraer resultados y conclusiones confiables, solamente se puede conseguir utilizando modelos precisos y parámetros reales. Esta tesis propone un ecosistema para UWSN basado en herramientas libres y de código abierto. Este ecosistema se compone de un modelo de recolección de energía y unmodelo de unmódemde bajo coste y bajo consumo con un sistema de activación remota que, junto con otros modelos ya implementados en las herramientas, permite la realización de simulaciones precisas con datos ambientales del tiempo y de las condiciones marinas del lugar donde la aplicación objeto de estudio va a desplegarse. Seguidamente, este ecosistema se utiliza con éxito en el estudio y evaluación de diferentes protocolos de transmisión aplicados a una aplicación real de monitorización de una piscifactoría en la costa del mar Mediterráneo, que es parte de un proyecto de investigación español (CICYT CTM2011-2961-C02-01). Finalmente, utilizando el modelo de recolección de energía, esta plataforma de simulación se utiliza para medir los requisitos de energía de la aplicación y extraer las necesidades de hardware mínimas.Climent Bayarri, JS. (2014). Contribution to Research on Underwater Sensor Networks Architectures by Means of Simulation [Tesis doctoral no publicada]. Universitat Politècnica de València. https://doi.org/10.4995/Thesis/10251/3532

Cost-Effective and Energy-Efficient Techniques for Underwater Acoustic Communication Modems

Finally, the modem developed has been tested experimentally in laboratory (aquatic environment) showing that can communicates at different data rates (100..1200 bps) compared to state-of-the-art research modems. The software used include LabVIEW, MATLAB, Simulink, and Multisim (to test the electronic circuit built) has been employed.Underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) are widely used in many applications related to ecosystem monitoring, and many more fields. Due to the absorption of electromagnetic waves in water and line-of-sight communication of optical waves, acoustic waves are the most suitable medium of communication in underwater environments. Underwater acoustic modem (UAM) is responsible for the transmission and reception of acoustic signals in an aquatic channel. Commercial modems may communicate at longer distances with reliability, but they are expensive and less power efficient. Research modems are designed by using a digital-signal-processor (DSP is expensive) and field-programmable-gate-array (FPGA is high power consuming device). In addition to, the use of a microcontroller is also a common practice (which is less expensive) but provides limited computational power. Hence, there is a need for a cost-effective and energy-efficient UAM to be used in budget limited applications. In this thesis different objectives are proposed. First, to identify the limitations of state-of-the-art commercial and research UAMs through a comprehensive survey. The second contribution has been the design of a low-cost acoustic modem for short-range underwater communications by using a single board computer (Raspberry-Pi), and a microcontroller (Atmega328P). The modulator, demodulator and amplifiers are designed with discrete components to reduce the overall cost. The third contribution is to design a web based underwater acoustic communication testbed along with a simulation platform (with underwater channel and sound propagation models), for testing modems. The fourth contribution is to integrate in a single module two important modules present in UAMs: the PSK modulator and the power amplifier

AIDPS:Adaptive Intrusion Detection and Prevention System for Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks

Underwater Acoustic Sensor Networks (UW-ASNs) are predominantly used for underwater environments and find applications in many areas. However, a lack of security considerations, the unstable and challenging nature of the underwater environment, and the resource-constrained nature of the sensor nodes used for UW-ASNs (which makes them incapable of adopting security primitives) make the UW-ASN prone to vulnerabilities. This paper proposes an Adaptive decentralised Intrusion Detection and Prevention System called AIDPS for UW-ASNs. The proposed AIDPS can improve the security of the UW-ASNs so that they can efficiently detect underwater-related attacks (e.g., blackhole, grayhole and flooding attacks). To determine the most effective configuration of the proposed construction, we conduct a number of experiments using several state-of-the-art machine learning algorithms (e.g., Adaptive Random Forest (ARF), light gradient-boosting machine, and K-nearest neighbours) and concept drift detection algorithms (e.g., ADWIN, kdqTree, and Page-Hinkley). Our experimental results show that incremental ARF using ADWIN provides optimal performance when implemented with One-class support vector machine (SVM) anomaly-based detectors. Furthermore, our extensive evaluation results also show that the proposed scheme outperforms state-of-the-art bench-marking methods while providing a wider range of desirable features such as scalability and complexity

TDMA frame design for a prototype underwater RF communication network

This document is the Accepted Manuscript version of the following article: Xianhui Che, Ian Wells, Gordon Dickers, and Paul Kear, ‘TDMA frame design for a prototype underwater RF communication network’, Ad Hoc Networks, Vol. 10 (3): 317-327, first available online 23 July 2011. The version of record is available online at doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.adhoc.2011.07.002 © 2011 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.Very low frequency electromagnetic communication system is used in a small scale underwater wireless sensor network for coastal monitoring purposes, as recent research has demonstrated distinct advantages of radio waves compared to acoustic and optical waves in shallow water conditions. This paper describes the detailed TDMA and packet design process for the prototype sensor system. The lightweight protocol is time division based in order to fit the unique characteristics and specifications of the network. Evaluations are based on initial beach trial as well as modeling and simulations.Peer reviewe

Enhanced Quantum Key Distribution Algorithm for Underwater Optical Wireless Sensor Network

The research aims to develop an attack-free underwater optical communication channel at a distance of 50 meters. In this work, we have emphasized the importance of Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) in Naval and many other applications. An in-detail study of the Benette Brassard QKD protocol proposed in 1984 [BB84] is done with its implementation. Then as the next step, we analyzed the drawbacks of BB84 and the necessity of QKD in Underwater Optical Wireless Sensor Networks [UO-WSN]. As a solution, to identified problems, we have proposed the Enhanced BB84 protocol (EBB84) with considerations of its usage in the UO-WSN. The results showed that the EBB84 algorithm is best suitable algorithm for the underwater environment