In a breakthrough that could revolutionize maritime communications, researchers have developed a novel optical communication system designed to bridge the gap between atmospheric and oceanic environments. The study, led by Min Guo from the State Key Laboratory of New Textile Materials and Advanced Processing Technologies at Wuhan Textile University in China, introduces a two-hop relay system that promises to enhance data transmission rates and overcome the challenges of cross-medium communication.
The system employs a combination of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) technology, multi-level hybrid multiplexing, and coherent orthogonal frequency division multiplexing with quadrature amplitude modulation. This sophisticated setup allows for frequency division multiplexing of baseband signals and generates polarization-multiplexed signal beams, ultimately achieving multi-dimensional signal transmission. The two-hop relay method involves maritime buoys or ships that decode and forward signals, providing physical layer isolation between atmospheric and oceanic channels.
One of the key innovations is the establishment of a composite channel model that accounts for atmospheric turbulence, rain attenuation, and oceanic chlorophyll absorption and scattering effects. This model helps mitigate the environmental interference that typically plagues cross-medium communication.
The results are impressive. The multi-level hybrid multiplexing method significantly boosts data transmission rates, with the system’s use of three channels of polarization-state data increasing the rate by 200%. The two-hop relay method effectively improves communication performance across different media, solving the problem of light transmission in cross-medium planes. Additionally, MIMO technology compensates for the impacts of both atmospheric and marine environments, with system performance improving as the number of light beams increases.
For the maritime sector, the implications are substantial. This technology could enhance underwater and surface communication, enabling more efficient data transfer between ships, buoys, and coastal stations. It could also improve the reliability and speed of communication in offshore operations, including oil and gas exploration, renewable energy projects, and environmental monitoring.
“Since the system adopts three channels of polarization-state data, the data transmission rate is increased by 200%,” Guo explained. “The two-hop relay method can effectively improve the communication performance of cross-medium optical communication and fundamentally solve the problem of light transmission in cross-medium planes.”
The study, published in the journal ‘Photonics’ (translated from Chinese), provides technical implementation schemes and reference data for designing high-capacity optical communication systems across air-sea media. As the maritime industry continues to evolve, such advancements in communication technology will be crucial in supporting the growing demands for data transmission and connectivity.
This research not only opens new avenues for maritime communication but also sets the stage for further innovations in optical communication technologies. As the industry embraces these advancements, the potential for improved efficiency, reliability, and performance in maritime operations becomes increasingly tangible.