Improved AUV autonomy provided by an underwater acoustic link
Résumé
GESMA (Groupe d'Etudes Sous-Marines de l'Atlantique), initiated a project named TRIDENT (TRansmission d'Images et de Données EN Temps réel) a few years ago. The project's objective is to develop a high data rate link allowing the transmission of different information (text, images...). A real-time receiver platform based on a spatio- temporal equalizer developed by ENST Bretagne, was carried out to reduce the various perturbations brought by the underwater acoustic channel (UWA). Different results show the robustness of the TRIDENT system for transmission in a strongly disturbed channel. Blind adaptive equalizers have been mainly dedicated to continuous data stream applications. Combined with an iterative procedure for short bursts, this spatio-temporal equalizer can resolve the challenge of recovering almost all the data. Nevertheless, some improvements were needed to achieve a solution compatible with potential future users assumptions. This paper aims to present some improvements and develop some technical aspects concerning the integration of such a device into a more complex system as an AUV could stand for.