Routing optimization for underwater optical networks in swarm configuration

Underwater wireless networks have been deeply studied in the last few years. Particular attention has been recently devoted to swarm networks, which can operate and take decision in collaborative manner. In swarm networks, the limited distance between nodes can be exploited by implementing optical links when the characteristics of the communication channel make it possible. With respect to acoustic communications, that solution can lead to an increase in data rate, to the absence of signal latency and to significant energy saving. A performance analysis is presented for an underwater swarm network in case of optical link among mobile nodes, considering LED optical transmitter and typical parameters for the communication channel. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 56:34–38, 2014