Hybrid optical–acoustic underwater communication with joint modulation and bio-inspired power optimization

Abstract

A hybrid optical–acoustic underwater wireless
communication system that integrates optical links at short ranges
and acoustic links in long ranges for high bandwidth underwater
applications is presented in our work. The system utilizes optical
intra-cluster and acoustic inter-cluster links, with cooperative
communication to improve data transmission and reliability.
Analytical models incorporating acoustic and optical signal
attenuation and noise are developed, considering practical
underwater conditions. Optical links utilize Quadrature
Amplitude Modulation with Turbo coding, while acoustic links
adopt Frequency Shift Keying with Reed–Solomon coding to
ensure reliable data transmission under heterogeneous channel
conditions. Simulations demonstrate that the proposed framework
supports robust transmission under different propagation
conditions in an underwater environment. Furthermore, a bio
inspired power optimization algorithm reduces transmission
power consumption while maintaining stable throughput and
received traffic load.