Device offers long-distance, low-power underwater communication

Researchers at MIT have developed a system for ultra-low-power underwater networking and communication. The system could enable battery-free communication spanning multi-kilometre distances for monitoring the impact of climate change on marine systems and coastlines. Researchers are now in the demonstration phase of the technology with the hope that its expanded battery-free communication range increases its feasibility as a monitoring and forecasting tool for aquaculture, storm prediction and marine ecosystem health.

“What started as a very exciting intellectual idea a few years ago — underwater communication with a million times lower power — is now practical and realistic. There are still a few interesting technical challenges to address, but there is a clear path from where we are now to deployment,” explains Fadel Adib, a former principal investigator within the Abdul Latif Jameel Water and Food Systems Lab and currently director of the Signal Kinetics group within the MIT Media Lab.