Joint Time-Reversal Space-Time Block Coding and Adaptive Equalization for Filtered Multitone Underwater Acoustic...

Area of Science:

• Underwater acoustic (UWA) communications
• Wireless sensor networks
• Signal processing

Background:

• High-rate and reliable communication is crucial for UWA sensor networks.
• Filtered multitone (FMT) offers spectral efficiency but faces intersymbol interference (ISI).
• Existing ISI suppression methods like receive diversity require complex hardware, hindering sensor miniaturization.

Purpose of the Study:

• To propose and evaluate a joint time-reversal space-time block coding (TR-STBC) and adaptive equalization method for FMT-UWA communications.
• To improve communication reliability and simplify receiver configurations in UWA sensor networks.
• To mitigate ISI effectively while supporting high data rates.

Main Methods:

• Developed a joint TR-STBC and adaptive equalization technique for FMT-UWA systems.
• Analyzed the proposed method theoretically.
• Assessed performance through simulations and real-world experimental data from an indoor pool trial.

Main Results:

• The proposed joint TR-STBC and adaptive equalization method demonstrated superior communication performance compared to the joint single-input-single-output (SISO) and adaptive equalization method.
• The method achieved comparable performance to the joint single-input-multiple-output (SIMO) and adaptive equalization method.
• The TR-STBC technique enabled simpler receive configurations by utilizing transmit diversity.

Conclusions:

• The proposed joint TR-STBC and adaptive equalization method is a valid and effective approach for high-rate FMT-UWA communications.
• This technique offers a practical solution for enhancing underwater sensor network performance with reduced hardware complexity.
• TR-STBC provides a viable alternative to receive diversity for achieving high diversity gain in challenging UWA environments.