Subnero is working to extend the wireless internet to the oceans. What does this network look like?

These wireless communications networks are made up of routers small units that send and receive signals to and from one another positioned a few hundred metres or a few kilometres apart, in order to convey data. The main difference compared with surface wireless networks is that the electromagnetic waves used for 4G or Wi-Fi do not work underwater. We have replaced them with sound waves that encode and convey the data. The principle is the same.

Why did you start developing this network?

The Acoustic Research Laboratory needed wireless systems that work underwater in order to retrieve the data from our sensors and to control our robots. Since none of the commercially available solutions worked well for our use in the challenging waters around Singapore, we decided to develop the technology ourselves. Since our solution appeared to be robust, we decided to market it. I am always happy to see how the ideas from R&D in universities and research labs make their way into industry. This is what happened with the internet!

Are the applications as varied as on the terrestrial wireless internet?

Sending information using waves does away with the need for cables, which are heavy, easily damaged and become

tangled up. Without cables, large networks of sensors can be deployed to monitor the environment, the proper working order of oil and gas drilling systems, to control fleets of underwater robots, without being limited by the span of the cables for control and data retrieval purposes, and of course to communicate between human beings. We are working on a solution where low-resolution videos can be transmitted over short distances. In the future, we may even be able to use something akin to Skype underwater!

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