During data transmission in a hydroacoustic channel, one of the problems is the multipath propagation effect, which leads to a decrease in the transmission parameters and sometimes completely prevents it. Therefore, we have attempted to develop a method, which is based on a recorded hydroacoustic signal, that allows us to recreate the original (generated) signal by eliminating the multipath effect. In our method, we use cepstral analysis to eliminate replicas of the generated signal. The method has been tested in simulation and during measurements in a real environment. Additionally, the influence of the method on data transmission in the hydroacoustic channel was tested. The obtained results confirmed the usefulness of the application of the developed method and improved the quality of data transmission by reducing the multipath propagation effect.

Monitoring the operating parameters of power grids is extremely important for their proper functioning as well as for ensuring the security of the entire infrastructure. As the idea of the Internet of Things becomes more ubiquitous, there are tools for monitoring the state of the complex electrical grid and means to control it. There are also developed new measuring devices and transmission technologies allowing for the transfer of performed measurements from many places to the network management center. However, there are still no devices that act as data concentrators, which would integrate many transmission technologies and protocols in one device, supporting the communication between those different transmission technologies and which would realize edge computing to assist the management center by prioritizing and combining transmitted data. In this article, the authors present a device that meets the above-mentioned requirements. There are presented research results leading to the development of a decision algorithm, called Multilink—ML, dedicated to the presented device. This algorithm enables the selection between LTE and NB-IoT interfaces for packet transmission without the need to burden the communication system with additional transmissions.

Wireless data transmission in the hydroacoustic channel under non-line-of-sight (NLOS) propagation conditions, for example, during a wreck penetration, is difficult to implement reliably. This is mostly due to the multipath propagation, which causes a reduction in the quality of data reception. Therefore, in this work an attempt has been made to develop a reliable method of wireless underwater communication test it under the NLOS conditions. In our method, we used multiple frequency-shift keying (MFSK) modulation, sending a single bit on two carriers, and diversity combining. The method was tested in laboratory conditions which simulated underwater signal propagation during the penetration of the wreck. The propagation conditions were investigated by determining the impulse responses at selected measurement points using the correlation method. Additionally, for comparison, the data transmission quality was determined by the bit error rate (BER) under the same conditions using direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) and binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modulation. The obtained results confirmed the usefulness of the application of the developed method for wireless data transmission in a hydroacoustic channel under NLOS conditions.

The development of IoT (the Internet of Things) wireless transmission opens a new era in communication systems. In the next years, the development and implementation of IoT systems will be very dynamic. It can be seen that the solutions of LTE – NB-IoT (Long Term Evolution – Narrowband IoT) transmission devices are implemented in a wide range of terrestrial solutions, e.g. smart grids. This paper aims to analyse the possibility of the use of NB-IoT technology for maritime communication applications and partially, for some maritime safety solutions, based on signal coverage analysis at sea. An interesting approach is the comparison of the results of NB-IoT coverage to the classic cellular LTE-based communication systems. Proposed solutions are based on the practical implementation of a designed specialised data concentrator with implemented gateway and radio modems, for both NB-IoT technology as well as LTE. In the paper, analyses of radio link budget and propagation loss models for sea environment are presented. The coverage analysis is based on real measurements of the efficiency of transmissions using wireless modems implemented in the developed data concentrator.

The growing interest in developing autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and creating underwater sensor networks (USNs) has led to a need for communication tools in underwater environments. For obvious reasons, wireless means of communication are the most desirable. However, conducting research in real conditions is troublesome and costly. Moreover, as hydroacoustic propagation conditions change very significantly, even during the day, the assessment of proposed underwater wireless communication methods is very difficult. Therefore, in the literature, there are considered simulators based on real measurements of underwater acoustic (UWA) channels. However, these simulators make an assumption that, during the transmission of elementary signals, the impulse response does not change. In this article, the authors present the results of the measurements realized in a towing tank where the transmitter could move with a precisely set velocity and show that the analyzed channel was non-stationary, even during the time of the transmission of a single chirp signal. The article presents an evaluation method of channel stationarity at the time of the chirp transmission, which should be treated as novelty. There is also an analysis of the impulse responses measured in motion in a towing tank.