Cooperative Communication Based Protocols for Underwater Wireless Sensors Networks: A Review

Area of Science:

• * Marine technology and sensor networks.
• * Underwater communication systems.

Background:

• * Underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs) are crucial for diverse military and civilian applications.
• * Wireless acoustic technology in UWSNs faces significant propagation challenges like attenuation, multipath, and latency.
• * Cooperative communication strategies, adapted from terrestrial systems, offer a promising solution to UWSN challenges.

Purpose of the Study:

• * To provide a comprehensive literature review on cooperative UWSNs.
• * To investigate the application of node cooperation across different network protocol layers.
• * To analyze current and future trends, including machine learning integration.

Main Methods:

• * Review of diversity techniques at the physical layer.
• * Examination of error and medium access control link layer protocols for cooperation.
• * Analysis of network layer routing strategies for cooperative UWSNs.
• * Performance comparisons of various cooperative approaches.

Main Results:

• * Node cooperation can be effectively implemented at physical, link, and network layers to mitigate underwater channel impairments.
• * Diversity techniques, cooperative MAC protocols, and routing strategies enhance UWSN reliability and efficiency.
• * Numerical results demonstrate performance benefits of cooperative approaches over non-cooperative ones.

Conclusions:

• * Cooperative communication is a vital strategy for advancing UWSN performance.
• * Future research should focus on integrating machine learning for optimized cooperative UWSN management.
• * Continued exploration of cooperative techniques is essential for realizing the full potential of UWSNs.