Underwater internet goes wireless

Internet connectivity is increasingly critical to modern life and science. Yet the vast aquatic realm remains the final frontier for wireless data transfer. Water's light bending, sound altering, and radio frequency scattering properties have largely meant cumbersome cables and bulky technology...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in ecology and the environment 2020-08, Vol.18 (6), p.312
Main Author: Murray, Meghan Miner
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cables
Coral reefs
Data transfer (computers)
Electronic devices
Internet
Internet access
Technology
Underwater
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Summary:Internet connectivity is increasingly critical to modern life and science. Yet the vast aquatic realm remains the final frontier for wireless data transfer. Water's light bending, sound altering, and radio frequency scattering properties have largely meant cumbersome cables and bulky technology for underwater uploads and downloads -- additional stressors for field researchers already out of their element. But that may be changing. A team of electrical engineers, com-puter scientists, and a coral reef ecologist based at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST; Thuwal, Saudi Arabia) has devised a new system enabling underwater internet access on a submerged smart device.
ISSN:1540-9295
1540-9309
DOI:10.1002/fee.2236