research04

Networking Protocols, experimentation, at-sea trials. We are involved in several research activities for underwater networking. There, our focus is centered around the design of networking protocols and interfaces with commercial and prototype undersea devices. Various experimental activities are also on the way.

Challenges

Underwater networking poses serious challenges to network designers, as no straightforward translation exists between protocols for the terrestrial wireless radio environment and their underwater counterparts. The main reason behind this is the different nature of the underwater acoustic channel: long propagation delays (the average propagation speed of an acoustic wave is about 1500 m/s underwater, nearly 200’000 times smaller than radio waves in the air), strong multipath effects, long-term channel variations, and last but not least a much smaller bandwidth available (due to the use of acoustic frequencies, i.e., in the tens of kHz range), which turns into lower transmit bit rates. While radio and optical waves may also be an option for underwater communications, acoustic waves still foster a lot of interest, as they are currently the only means to reach distances longer than a few hundred meters. With the proper configuration of transmission hardware parameters, acoustic waves can travel up to tens of kilometers, making long range communication feasible, albeit at a possibly very low bit rate.

Channel modeling

As there is no widely agreed upon model for the channel, we seek new models that are sufficiently compact yet simple enough to be plugged into a network simulator. This activity is carried out in cooperation with institutions and research centers that can provide real data from undersea measurement campaigns. 

Underwater acoustic channel can be simulated using ray-tracer as well. We develop the WOSS Framework to obtain realistic acustic channel realization based on ray-tracer to be used in underwater network simulators.

MAC protocol design and evaluation

We are currently analyzing a number of MAC solutions by means of simulations and stochastic models, in order to discover which features make one protocol perform better than others, with the final objective to create a novel protocol encompassing the best behaviors seen in other approaches.

Routing and broadcasting

Multihop underwater networks will require delay-tolerant routing protocols, that work well in the presence of very long propagation delays. We are currently analyzing the relevant routing tradeoffs that allow, e.g., to save energy by choosing wisely which nodes will relay messages. We are also designing efficient broadcasting techniques based on Hybrid ARQ.

Experimentation

We collaborate with research institutions to define joint sea trial activities which allow for network protocol evaluation as well as channel characterization; this feeds novel insight and provides directions to all above tasks.

Publications

AuthorsTitleVenue/Journal
A. Ortile, F. Campagnaro, F. Chiariotti, M. ZorziUnmanned Marine Vehicle Cooperative Offshore Infrastructure
Monitoring with Multimodal Underwater Feature Transmission
ACM WUWNet 2023 Shenzhen
V. Cimino, F. Campagnaro, M. ZorziA Mine Countermeasure System with Low-Cost AUV SwarmsACM WUWNet 2023 Shenzhen
F. Campagnaro, F. Steinmetz, B.C. Renner, M. ZorziAffordable underwater acoustic modems and their
application in everyday life: a complete overview
ACM WUWNet 2023 Shenzhen
M. Ghalkhani, F. Campagnaro, A. Pozzebon, D. De Battisti, M. Biagi, M. ZorziA LoRaWAN Network for the Real-Time Monitoring of the Venice Lagoon: Preliminary TestsIEEE/OES Metrosea 2023 Malta
H. Dol, K. Blom, D. Sotnik, I. Nissen, R. Otnes, A. Komulainen, F. CampagnaroEDA-SALSA: Development of a self-reconfigurable protocol stack for robust underwater acoustic networkingIEEE/MTS Oceans 2023 Limerick
Riccardo Tumiati, Filippo Campagnaro, Irene Cappelli, Alessandro Pozzebon, Michele ZorziModeling the underwater electromagnetic radio frequency channel in the DESERT Underwater network simulatorIEEE/MTS Oceans 2023 Limerick
Jianyu Zhang, Filippo Campagnaro, Michele ZorziSpatial-reuse TDMA for Large Scale Underwater Acoustic Multi-hop Grid NetworksIEEE/MTS Oceans 2023 Limerick
Roberto Francescon, Filippo Campagnaro, Federico Favaro, Federico Guerra, Michele ZorziSoftware Defined Underwater Communications: an Experimental Platform for ResearchIEEE/MTS Oceans 2023 Limerick
Alessandro Pozzebon, Irene Cappelli, Filippo Campagnaro, Roberto Francescon and Michele ZorziLoRaWAN Transmissions in Salt Water for Superficial Marine Sensor Networking: Laboratory and Field TestsMDPI Sensors
Filippo Campagnaro, Roberto Francescon, Emanuele Coccolo, Antonio Montanari, Michele ZorziA Software-Defined Underwater Acoustic Modem for Everyone: Design and EvaluationIEEE IoTMag 2023
Emanuele Coccolo, Cosmin Delea, Fabian Steinmetz, Roberto Francescon, Alberto Signori, Ching Nok Au, Filippo Campagnaro, Vincent Schneider, Federico Favaro, Johannes Oeffner, Christian Renner, Michele ZorziSystem Architecture and Communication Infrastructure for the RoboVaaS projectIEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering 2023
Filippo Campagnaro, Fabian Steinmetz, Bernd-Christian RennerSurvey on Low-Cost Underwater Sensor Networks: From Niche Applications to Everyday UseMDPI JMSE 2023
Federico Mason, Federico Chiariotti, Andrea Zanella, Michele ZorziAutomatic Shark Detection via Underwater Acoustic SensingIEEE IoTMag 2022
Antonio Montanari, Filippo Campagnaro, Michele ZorziOne- and Two-Way Travel Time Ranging in Underwater Acoustic Mobile NetworksWUWNet 2022 Boston – US
Nicola Toffolo, Antonio Montanari, Filippo Campagnaro, Michele ZorziModeling acoustic channel variability in underwater network simulators from real field experimental dataMTS/IEEE Oceans 2022 Hampton Roads – US
Filippo Campagnaro, Nicola Toffolo, Alessandro Pozzebon, Roberto Francescon, Alberto Barausse, Laura Airoldi, Michele ZorziA Network Infrastructure for Monitoring Coastal Environments and Study Climate Changes in Marine SystemsMTS/IEEE Oceans 2022 Hampton Roads – US
Emanuele Coccolo, Roberto Francescon, Filippo Campagnaro, Michele ZorziField Tests of the Software Defined Modem
Prototype for the MODA Project
IEEE UComms 2022
Filippo Campagnaro, Nicola Toffolo, Michele ZorziModeling acoustic channel variability in underwater network simulators from real field experiment dataMDPI Electronics 2022
A. Pal, Filippo Campagnaro, K. Ahraf, R. Rahman, A. Ashok, H. GuoCommunication for Underwater Sensor Networks: A Comprehensive SummaryACM Transactions on Sensor Networks 2022
Alberto Signori, Filippo Campagnaro, Ivor Nissen, Michele ZorziChannel-Based Trust Model for Security in Underwater Acoustic NetworksIEEE Internet of Things Journal 2022
Emanuele Coccolo, Filippo Campagnaro, Davide Tronchin, Antonio Montanari,
Roberto Francescon, Lorenzo Vangelista , Michele Zorzi
Underwater Acoustic Modem for a MOrphing Distributed Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (MODA)MTS/IEEE Oceans 2022 Chennai – India
Alberto Signori, Emanuele Coccolo, Filippo Campagnaro, Ivor Nissen, Michele ZorziTrustworthiness in the GUWMANET+ Protocol for
Underwater Acoustic Mobile Ad-Hoc Networks
ACM WUWNet 2021
Alberto Signori, Federico Chiariotti, Filippo Campagnaro, Roberto Petroccia, Konstantinos Pelekanakis, Pietro Paglierani, João Alves, Michele ZorziA Geometry-Based Game Theoretical Model of Blind and Reactive Underwater JammingIEEE Transactions on Wireless Communications
Davide Tronchin, Roberto Francescon, Filippo Campagnaro, Alberto Signori, Roberto Petroccia, Konstantinos Pelekanakis, Pietro Paglierani, João Alves, Michele ZorziA Secure Cross-Layer Communication Stack for Underwater Acoustic NetworksMTS/IEEE Oceans 2021 San Diego – Porto
Filippo Campagnaro, Alberto Signori, Roald Otnes, Michael Goetz, Dimitri Sotnik, Arwid Komulainen, Ivor Nissen, Federico Favaro, Federico Guerra, Michele ZorziA Simulation Framework for Smart Adaptive Long- and Short-range Acoustic NetworksMTS/IEEE Oceans 2021 San Diego – Porto
Roberto Francescon, Filippo Campagnaro, Emanuele Coccolo, Alberto Signori, Federico Guerra, Federico Favaro, Michele ZorziAn Event-Based Stack For Data Transmission Through Underwater Multimodal NetworksIEEE Ucomms 2021
Filippo Campagnaro, Alberto Signori, Michele ZorziWireless Remote Control for Underwater VehiclesJournal of Marine Science and Engineering
Filippo Campagnaro, Davide Tronchin, Alberto Signori, Roberto Petroccia, Konstantinos Pelekanakis, Pietro Paglierani, Joāo Alves, Michele ZorziReplay-Attack Countermeasures for Underwater Acoustic NetworksMTS/IEEE Global Oceans 2020
Cosmin Delea, Emanuele Coccolo, Salvador Fernandez Covarrubias, Filippo Campagnaro, Federico Favaro, Roberto Francescon, Vincent Schneider, Johannes Oeffner, Michele ZorziCommunication Infrastructure and Cloud Computing in Robotic Vessel as-a-Service ApplicationMTS/IEEE Global Oceans 2020
Alberto Signori, Filippo Campagnaro, Kim-Fabian Wachlin, Ivor Nissen, Michele ZorziOn the Use of Conversation Detection to Improve the Security of Underwater Acoustic NetworksMTS/IEEE Global Oceans 2020
Federico Mason, Federico Chiariotti, Filippo Campagnaro, Andrea Zanella, Michele ZorziLow-cost AUV Swarm Localization Through Multimodal Underwater Acoustic NetworksMTS/IEEE Global Oceans 2020
Tommaso Zugno, Filippo Campagnaro, Michele ZorziControlling in real-time an ASV-carried ROV for quay wall and ship hull inspection through wireless links in harbor environmentsMTS/IEEE Global Oceans 2020
Davide Magrin, Alberto Signori, Davide Tronchin, Filippo Campagnaro, Michele ZorziCollaboration of LoRaWAN and Underwater Acoustic Communications in Sensor Data Collection ApplicationsMTS/IEEE Global Oceans 2020
Federico Chiariotti, Alberto Signori, Filippo Campagnaro, Michele ZorziUnderwater Jamming Attacks as Incomplete Information GamesIEEE INFOCOM Workshop WCNEE 2020
Alberto Signori, Federico Chiariotti, Filippo Campagnaro, Michele ZorziA Game-Theoretic and Experimental Analysis of Energy-Depleting Underwater Jamming AttacksIEEE Internet of Things Journal
Paolo Casari, Filippo Campagnaro, Elizaveta Dubrovinskaya, Roberto Francescon, Amir Dagan, Shlomo Dahan, Michele Zorzi, Roee DiamantASUNA: A Topology Dataset for Underwater Network EmulationIEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering
Alberto Signori, Filippo Campagnaro, Fabian Steinmetz, Bernd-Christian Renner, Michele ZorziData Gathering from a Multimodal Dense Underwater Acoustic Sensor Network Deployed in Shallow Fresh Water ScenariosJournal of Sensor and Actuator Networks
Alberto Signori, Chiara Pielli, Federico Chiariotti, Marco Giordani, Filippo Campagnaro, Nicola Laurenti, Michele ZorziJamming the Underwater: a Game-Theoretic Analysis
of Energy-Depleting Jamming Attacks
ACM WUWNet 2019
Filippo Campagnaro, Fabian Steinmetz, Alberto Signori, Davide Zordan, Bernd-Christian Renner, Michele ZorziData Collection in Shallow Fresh Water Scenarios with Low-Cost Underwater Acoustic ModemsUACE 2019
Davide Zordan, Filippo Campagnaro, Michele ZorziOn the feasibility of an Anti-grounding Service
with Autonomous Surface Vessels
MTS/IEEE Oceans19 Marseille
Alberto Signori, Filippo Campagnaro, Davide Zordan, Federico Favaro, Michele ZorziUnderwater Acoustic Sensors Data Collection in the Robotic Vessels as-a-Service ProjectMTS/IEEE Oceans19 Marseille
Filippo Campagnaro, Paolo Casari, Michele Zorzi, Roee Diamant Optimal Transmission Scheduling in Small Multimodal Underwater NetworksIEEE Wireless Communication Letter 2018
Emanuele Coccolo, Filippo Campagnaro Alberto Signori, Federico Favaro, Michele ZorziImplementation of AUV and Ship Noise for Link Quality Evaluation in the DESERT UnderwaterACM WUWNet 2018
Alberto Signori, Filippo Campagnaro, Michele ZorziModeling the Performance of Optical Modems in the DESERT Underwater Network SimulatorIEEE Ucomms 2018
Filippo Campagnaro, Roberto Francescon, Davide Tronchin, Michele ZorziOn the Feasibility of Video Streaming through Underwater Acoustic Links IEEE Ucomms 2018
William Rizzo, Alberto Signori, Filippo Campagnaro, Michele ZorziAUVs Telemetry Range Extension through a Multimodal Underwater Acoustic Network MTS/IEEE Oceans18 Charleston
Alberto Signori, Filippo Campagnaro, Michele ZorziMulti-Hop Range Extension of a Wireless Remote Control for Underwater Vehicles MTS/IEEE Oceans18 Kobe
Roee Diamant, Paolo Casari, Filippo Campagnaro, Oleksiy Kebkal, Veronika Kebkal, Michele ZorziFair and Throughput-Optimal Routing in Multimodal Underwater NetworksIEEE Transaction on Wireless Communications
Roee Diamant, Roberto Francescon, Michele ZorziTED: A Topology Discovery Algorithm for Underwater Acoustic NetworksIEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering
Roee Diamant, Paolo Casari, Filippo Campagnaro, Michele ZorziRouting in Multi-Modal Underwater Networks: a Throughput-optimal ApproachIEEE INFOCOM 2017
Roee Diamant, Filippo Campagnaro, Michele De Filippo De Grazia, Paolo Casari, Alberto Testolin, Violeta Sanjuan Calzado, Michele ZorziOn the Relationship between the Underwater Acoustic and Optical ChannelsIEEE Transaction on Wireless Communications

Previous works can be found at this link

DESERT underwater simulator

DESERT Underwater is a complete set of public C++ libraries that extend the NS-MIRACLE simulator to support the design and implementation of underwater network protocols.

DESERT simulator

WOSS framework

WOSS is a multi-threaded C++ framework that permits the integration of any existing underwater channel simulator that expects environmental data as input and provides as output a channel realization. Currently, WOSS integrates the Bellhop ray-tracing program. 

WOSS framework

Related projects

Collaborations

  • CNR-INM, Genova, Italy
  • The Hatter Department of Marine Technologies, University of Haifa, Israel
  • Evologics GmbH, Germany
  • NATO Centre for Maritime Research and Experimentation (CMRE)
  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA, USA
  • Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, USA
  • Italian Ministry of Defense
  • University of Twente, Enschede, The Nederlands
  • University of Rome “La Sapienza”

Team Members

  • Michele Zorzi
  • Filippo Campagnaro
  • Roberto Francescon
  • Antonio Montanari
  • Federico Favaro
  • Federico Guerra

Contacts