Successful Internet-Speed Data Transfer Between Underwater Computers

June 20, 2020 - Dive Magazine

In near future, we are able to use wifi and post our underwater photos live or use it instantly for scientific research.

The quest for instant underwater communication took a step forward earlier this month, as researchers from the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Saudi Arabia have demonstrated an effective wireless communications system using light as a means of transmission.

Connecting divers to the Internet while they are underwater would undoubtedly be of huge benefit to scientific research of the world's oceans. Data and imagery could be processed as it is gathered, rather than waiting for footage to be brought to the surface, analysed and then have another dive expedition prepared and deployed.

By the same token, there is an increasing demand from a new generation of divers raised in the age of social media for the ability to instantly share underwater selfies with the world. 

The ability to add footage of a passing whale shark to a virtual meeting would undoubtedly be prized by certain groups of divers.

Currently, underwater communication is possible by radio waves over very short distances; acoustic signals have a much greater range but the rate of data transmission is too low to be useful for anything other than simple signalling. 

Combining the two technologies has made it possible, for example, to track a group of divers underwater in real-time, but would not allow them to send images to people at the surface.

Light can travel much further through water than radio waves and can carry a huge amount of data, but it is only possible if the water is reasonably clear and there is a direct line of sight between transmitter and receiver. 

The team from KAUST has developed an underwater wireless system – dubbed 'Aqua-Fi' – that would be able to support Internet communication using LEDs for low-powered short-range communications, or lasers, which can be used over longer distances but require more power.