Concurrent Transmission Based on Distributed Scheduling for Underwater Acoustic Networks.

Area of Science:

• Computer Science
• Electrical Engineering
• Oceanography

Background:

• Handshaking is crucial for collision avoidance in terrestrial and underwater networks.
• Conventional handshaking is inefficient in underwater acoustic networks due to long propagation delays, limiting communication to one pair per cycle.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose a novel distributed scheduling method for underwater acoustic networks.
• To enhance network performance by supporting multiple handshakes and concurrent transmissions within a single cycle for one-hop clusters.

Main Methods:

• Developed a deterministic scheduling algorithm to jointly optimize source node sending sequences and timing.
• The algorithm aims to shorten total data transmission time while preventing collisions during concurrent transmissions.
• Enabled distributed synchronization of concurrent transmissions using standard two-way handshaking, reducing scheduling overhead.

Main Results:

• The proposed method supports multiple handshakes and concurrent transmissions in one transmission cycle.
• Simulation results demonstrate superior performance over conventional underwater medium access control protocols.
• Improvements observed in normalized throughput, packet delivery rate, average end-to-end delay, and average energy consumption.

Conclusions:

• The new distributed scheduling method significantly improves the efficiency of underwater acoustic networks.
• The deterministic algorithm effectively manages concurrent transmissions, reduces delays, and conserves energy.
• This approach offers a more robust and performant solution for underwater communication challenges.