Underwater wireless optical communication device and standby wake-up method with acoustic signal wake-up

Abstract

The application belongs to the technical field of underwater wireless optical communication and relates to an underwater wireless optical communication device awakened by an acoustic signal and a standby awakening communication method. The device comprises a cabin top light transmission cover, an internal light transceiving array, an acoustic communication transceiving module, a main control unit and a power module. In a standby state, the main control unit controls the power module to cut off the power supply of the internal light transceiving array and only maintains the acoustic communication transceiving module to perform low-power acoustic monitoring; when a preset acoustic awakening signal is received, the acoustic communication transceiving module triggers the main control unit to wake up and completes bidirectional handshaking through acoustic verification messages. After verification succeeds, the main control unit connects the power supply of the internal light transceiving array, establishes a high-speed optical communication link and exchanges data. The scheme can reduce the standby power consumption of an underwater communication node, reduce false awakening and improve long-term deployment capability.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] In the field of underwater wireless optical communication technology, there is a particular connection to an underwater wireless optical communication device that is woken up by an acoustic signal and a standby wake-up communication method. Background Technology

[0002] With the rapid development of deep-sea exploration technology, marine environmental monitoring, seabed resource exploration, and the construction of underwater engineering operation systems increasingly rely on the collaborative operation of unmanned underwater equipment and fixed seabed observation networks. In these complex marine application scenarios, the efficient transmission of data such as high-definition video streams and sensor data streams places high demands on the transmission rate of underwater communication technology. Underwater wireless optical communication, utilizing special optical coding, achieves high-bandwidth, low-latency data transmission, becoming an ideal solution for high-capacity underwater data transmission.

[0003] However, underwater wireless optical communication faces severe challenges in practical engineering deployments, especially when used as fixed seabed communication base stations, due to its high energy consumption and long-term operation. Because seawater strongly absorbs and scatters light signals, optical communication systems must be equipped with high-power light-emitting arrays such as high-power LEDs or lasers, as well as highly sensitive photodetectors, to ensure sufficient communication distance and coverage blind spots. If these fixed nodes deployed in the deep sea are constantly in full-power standby mode to respond to randomly passing underwater vehicles, their limited electrical energy will be completely depleted in a short time.

[0004] To address the aforementioned endurance issues, some existing solutions attempt to employ timed power-on / off or preset communication windows. However, this severely sacrifices the mobility and real-time performance of underwater equipment, preventing the timely establishment of communication links under sudden mission demands. On the other hand, relying solely on photoelectric receiver modules for standby detection also wastes energy and is highly susceptible to water turbidity, failing to detect wake-up signals promptly. Therefore, exploring a novel underwater communication equipment architecture that can achieve both long-term low-power sleep mode and rapid activation and establishment of high-speed optical links when a target device approaches, effectively solving problems related to low-power standby and timely wake-up, is a pressing issue in the current technological field. Summary of the Invention

[0005] The purpose of this invention is to overcome the technical defects of existing deep-sea fixed wireless optical communication nodes, such as low energy efficiency, limited standby life, and poor environmental triggering sensitivity, and to provide an underwater wireless optical communication device that is woken up by an acoustic signal and a long-term standby wake-up method, so as to realize long-term monitoring and timely communication of underwater base stations.

[0006] The technical solution of the present invention is as follows: An underwater wireless optical communication device awakened by an acoustic signal includes a top light-transmitting cover (1), an internal optical transceiver array (2), a tank outer cover (3), a bottom mounting flange (11), and multiple watertight connectors. The top light-transmitting cover (1) is located on the top end face of the tank outer cover (3), and multiple outer wall reinforcing rings (4) are distributed on the outer wall of the tank outer cover (3). The bottom mounting flange (11) is located at the bottom of the device and is connected to the bottom end face of the tank outer cover (3) through multiple bottom support columns (10). The underwater wireless optical communication device is fixedly deployed on a seabed base or underwater fixed platform through the flange fixing holes (12) on the bottom mounting flange (11). The watertight connectors include a left watertight connector (7) at the bottom of the tank, a right watertight connector (8) at the bottom of the tank, and a bottom watertight connector (9) at the bottom of the communication transceiver module.

[0007] The inner water-sealed space below the cabin top light-transmitting cover (1) houses an internal optical transceiver array (2); the internal optical transceiver array (2) includes a wireless optical communication receiver decoding module and a wireless optical communication transmitter encoding module. The inner sealed space of the cabin outer cover (3) is equipped with a main control unit (13) and a power supply module (14).

[0008] The acoustic communication transceiver module (6) integrates a low-power acoustic receiving module and an acoustic transmitting module. As an independent peripheral, it is fixedly installed on the lower half of the side of the tank cover (3) by a side cantilever bracket (5).

[0009] The watertight connectors are respectively located at the bottom of the outer cover (3) of the tank and at the bottom of the acoustic communication transceiver module (6). Among them, the left watertight connector (7) and the right watertight connector (8) at the bottom of the tank are symmetrically arranged on the bottom end cover of the outer cover (3); the watertight connector (9) at the bottom of the acoustic communication transceiver module is located at the tail end of the acoustic communication transceiver module (6).

[0010] The bottom left watertight connector (7) of the tank and the bottom watertight connector (9) of the acoustic communication transceiver module are interconnected by a cable to realize electrical and signal transmission between the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) and the main control unit; the bottom right watertight connector (8) of the tank is used to connect to the main control system of an external underwater robot or seabed base station to realize system-level communication and power supply.

[0011] The power module (14) is controlled by the main control unit (13) and is used to manage the power supply of the internal optical transceiver array (2).

[0012] The standby wake-up and communication method for the underwater wireless optical communication equipment awakened by the aforementioned acoustic signal includes the following steps: Step 1 Low power consumption monitoring: In the standby state without data interaction, the main control unit (13) controls the power module (14) to cut off the power supply to the internal optical transceiver array (2), and only uses the basic power provided by the external platform through the right watertight connector (8) at the bottom of the tank to maintain the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) to perform low-power specific frequency band acoustic monitoring through the connector (7, 9).

[0013] Step 2: Sound signal wake-up: When the sound communication transceiver module (6) captures a specific frequency band wake-up acoustic signal emitted by the external target device, it immediately generates a hardware interrupt signal and transmits it across the cabin via the connector pair (9, 7) in sequence, thereby triggering the main control unit (13) to wake up.

[0014] Step 3 Two-way handshake authentication: After waking up, the main control unit (13) controls the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) to send out an acoustic verification message containing the device ID, and confirms the two-way identity handshake is successful after successfully verifying the correct reply returned by the target device, so as to effectively prevent false wake-up (if the verification fails or timeout occurs, the system returns to step 1).

[0015] Step 4 Optical communication data exchange: After the handshake is successful, the main control unit (13) instructs the power module (14) to connect the internal optical transceiver array (2) to power it, establish a high-speed optical link for data interaction, and transmit the data to the external platform through the right watertight connector (8) at the bottom of the tank. Finally, after the transmission is completed or the timeout occurs, the power supply to the optical array is cut off again to restore the low-power sleep state.

[0016] The present invention achieves the following beneficial effects through the above technical solution: (1) Reduce energy consumption and achieve long standby: By introducing an independent acoustic communication transceiver module for low-power acoustic monitoring, and using a power module on the physical link to control the power outage of high-power optical components, the static power consumption of the system is reduced, overcoming the pain point of limited battery capacity of underwater nodes and extending the maintenance-free deployment cycle of the equipment.

[0017] (2) Highly reliable anti-interference wake-up mechanism: The acoustic interruption trigger and bidirectional communication confirmation are set as the prerequisite conditions for activating the optical communication module, which effectively identifies and filters environmental noise and irrelevant acoustic interference in the water. This design fundamentally eliminates the false start-up of the optical module and ensures the effective allocation of limited battery power and the stable operation of the system.

[0018] (3) Standardized interface design, high deployment flexibility: In terms of mechanical installation, the bottom of the equipment adopts a universal mounting flange and evenly distributed fixing holes, which enables it to be quickly and firmly anchored to various underwater platforms as a standardized communication load; in terms of electrical interconnection, the equipment has reserved universal watertight connectors, which can flexibly select the corresponding watertight cables for docking according to the different physical interface definitions of the target platform. This dual standardization of mechanical and electrical design simplifies the assembly, mounting and modular replacement process of underwater communication network nodes in complex operation scenarios. Attached Figure Description

[0019] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional structural diagram of the front and side views of an embodiment of the present invention.

[0020] Figure 2 This is a top view of one embodiment of the present invention.

[0021] Figure 3 This is a bottom view of one embodiment of the present invention.

[0022] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the acoustic wake-up algorithm of the present invention.

[0023] In the figure: 1. Top light-transmitting cover; 2. Internal optical transceiver array; 3. Outer cover of the tank; 4. External wall reinforcing ring (4); 5. Side cantilever bracket; 6. Acoustic communication transceiver module; 7. Left watertight connector at the bottom of the tank; 8. Right watertight connector at the bottom of the tank; 9. Bottom watertight connector of the acoustic communication transceiver module; 10. Bottom support column; 11. Bottom mounting flange; 12. Flange fixing hole; 13. Main control unit; 14. Power module. Detailed Implementation

[0024] The specific embodiments of the present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and technical solutions.

[0025] I. Modular structure design of base stations.

[0026] The underwater wireless optical communication equipment described in this invention is fixedly deployed on a seabed base or underwater fixed platform. It adopts a modular design with optical-acoustic heterogeneity and physical isolation, resulting in a highly compact structure to ensure long-term standby and high-speed communication capabilities in the deep sea. The top part is mainly responsible for transmitting and receiving optical signals. It is equipped with a top light-transmitting cover (1) and an internal optical transceiver array (2). The internal optical transceiver array (2) includes a wireless optical communication transmitter encoding module and a wireless optical communication receiver decoding module, which are used to realize underwater high-speed wireless optical communication and wide-area beam guidance. The side of the equipment is used for low-power acoustic sensing. It is equipped with a side cantilever bracket (5) and an acoustic communication transceiver module (6), which serves as an independent listening peripheral for omnidirectional sound wave transmission and reception. The inside of the tank is the control core and power management center. It is sealed with a main control unit (13) for performing control tasks such as hardware interrupt response and identity handshake logic; and a power module (14) for performing physical power-off and power supply management of high-power optical links. The bottom of the equipment is used for external connection and physical anchoring. It is equipped with a left watertight connector (7) at the bottom of the tank, a right watertight connector (8) at the bottom of the tank, a bottom support column (10) and a bottom mounting flange (11) with flange fixing holes (12) to ensure the electrical connection and stable deployment of the equipment on the seabed.

[0027] like Figure 1-3 As shown, the underwater wireless optical communication device for wake-up by sound signal of the present invention has the following specific structure: it includes a top light-transmitting cover (1), an internal optical transceiver array (2), a tank cover (3), and a bottom mounting flange (11); the top light-transmitting cover (1) and the bottom mounting flange (11) are located at the top and bottom of the tank cover (3), respectively.

[0028] The top light-transmitting cover (1) is water-sealed onto the top end face of the outer cover (3) of the tank. An internal optical transceiver array (2) is installed in a sealed manner below the top light-transmitting cover (1). The internal optical transceiver array (2) is used for high-speed optical communication data interaction with the external underwater robot after being awakened.

[0029] Multiple outer wall reinforcing rings (4) are distributed on the outer wall of the tank cover (3) to enhance the pressure resistance in deep water environment and assist in internal heat dissipation. A side cantilever bracket (5) is fixed to the lower half of the tank cover (3); the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) is suspended and installed on the side of the tank body through the side cantilever bracket (5). The acoustic communication transceiver module (6) integrates a low-power acoustic receiving module and an acoustic transmitting module, and operates as an independent peripheral module.

[0030] The main control unit (13) and power module (14) are installed in the enclosed space inside the outer cover (3) of the tank.

[0031] The bottom of the device is equipped with three watertight interfaces for cross-compartment connection. Among them, the left watertight connector (7) and the right watertight connector (8) at the bottom of the compartment are symmetrically arranged on the outside of the bottom cover of the compartment cover (3); the bottom watertight connector (9) of the acoustic communication transceiver module is located at the very end of the acoustic communication transceiver module (6).

[0032] The bottom mounting flange (11) is connected to the bottom cover of the tank cover (3) through multiple bottom support columns (10). The entire equipment can be fixed to the base with bolts through the flange fixing holes (12) on the bottom mounting flange (11).

[0033] The signal transmission and connection relationship of the device of the present invention is as follows: The left watertight connector (7) at the bottom of the tank and the bottom watertight connector (9) of the acoustic communication transceiver module are interconnected through an external cable to realize the electrical and signal cross-tank transmission between the external acoustic communication transceiver module (6) and the internal main control unit (13). The right watertight connector (8) at the bottom of the tank is connected to the main control system of an external underwater robot or seabed base station to realize system bus communication and power supply. The main control unit (13) is connected to the right watertight connector (8) at the bottom of the tank, the internal optical transceiver array (2) and the power module (14) respectively to ensure that each hardware module operates collaboratively under the scheduling of the main control unit (13). The power module (14) is used to regulate voltage, is connected to the internal optical transceiver array (2) and the left watertight connector (7) at the bottom of the tank, and controls the power supply of the internal optical transceiver array (2) and the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) under the command of the main control unit (13).

[0034] In specific collaborative operations, the external carrier platform provides power to the system through the right watertight connector (8) at the bottom of the tank, and the main control unit (13) maintains the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) in a listening state through connector pairs (7, 9). When the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) receives an external acoustic wake-up signal, it generates a hardware interrupt signal and transmits it to the main control unit (13) through connector pairs (9, 7). After the main control unit (13) wakes up, it uses the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) to send an identity confirmation message. After confirming that the target handshake is successful, the main control unit (13) instructs the power module (14) to fully power the internal optical transceiver array (2). The internal optical transceiver array (2) receives the high-speed optical signal returned by the target device and transmits it to the main control unit (13) for demodulation, or transmits the data encoded by the main control unit (13) in the form of an optical signal. The communication data is processed by the main control unit (13) and transmitted to the external carrier platform through the right watertight connector (8) at the bottom of the tank.

[0035] II. Voice wake-up communication method.

[0036] The acoustic wake-up communication method of this invention fully utilizes the low-power characteristics and accurate data reception of acoustics, aiming to achieve long-term standby and timely wake-up of underwater base stations. The core of this method is a two-way confirmation mechanism based on acoustic communication and a switching control mechanism for the optical communication module. Combined with... Figure 4 The algorithm flow, specifically includes the following steps: Step 1 Low-Power Standby: During routine seabed deployment without data interaction, the device is in a default standby state. At this time, the main control unit (13) outputs a shutdown command to the power module (14) to cut off the power supply to the internal optical transceiver array (2). The external underwater robot or seabed base station only provides the main control unit (13) with the power needed to maintain the basic operation of the unit through the right watertight connector (8) at the bottom of the tank. At the same time, the main control unit (13) maintains the acoustic receiving module in the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) in a low-power online operating state through the left watertight connector (7) at the bottom of the tank and the bottom watertight connector (9) of the acoustic communication transceiver module. At this time, the acoustic receiving module continuously monitors specific frequency bands in the surrounding waters, and the power consumption of the entire system is reduced to the minimum.

[0037] Step 2: Sound signal wake-up: When a target device with data interaction needs (such as a data retrieval underwater robot) enters the acoustic coverage area and actively sends a wake-up acoustic signal matching the specific frequency band, the acoustic receiving module of the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) captures the signal and generates a hardware interrupt signal, and transmits it to the internal main control unit (13) through the connector pair (9, 7) in sequence, and executes the wake-up of the main control unit (13).

[0038] Step 3 Two-way handshake authentication: After the main control unit (13) wakes up from hibernation due to an interrupt, it initiates a verification mechanism to prevent false wake-ups caused by marine life noise. The main control unit (13) controls the transmitting module of the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) to send out an acoustic verification message (containing the device ID and request confirmation code). After receiving the message, the target device needs to return the correct response acoustically. If the main control unit (13) receives and verifies the message without error, it determines that the two-way identity handshake is successful and confirms that the wake-up is valid; if no response is received within the timeout or the verification code is incorrect, the main control unit (13) directly clears the interrupt flag and the system returns to step 1.

[0039] Step 4: Optical Communication Data Exchange: After confirming the successful two-way handshake and the legitimate identity of the target, the main control unit (13) controls the power supply module (14) to connect the power supply to the internal optical transceiver array (2). At this time, the wireless optical communication transmitter encoding module and receiver decoding module inside the array begin to work. After the optical signal passes through the light-transmitting cover (1) on the top of the cabin, it quickly establishes a high-bandwidth wireless optical communication link with the nearby external target device within a short distance. After the optical link is successfully established, the optical signal is sent to the main control unit (13) for buffering and processing after photoelectric conversion and decoding. Then, the main control unit (13) transmits the data to the external carrier platform (such as an underwater robot or seabed base station) through the high-speed information bus of the right watertight connector (8) at the bottom of the cabin to complete the information exchange. After the data transmission task is completed, or if the main control unit (13) fails to detect a valid optical data packet within the preset time period, resulting in a communication timeout, the main control unit (13) will determine that the communication session has ended and control the power supply module (14) to disconnect the power supply of the internal optical transceiver array (2) again. The entire device will then return to the low-power sleep state described in step 1 and wait for the next acoustic wake-up.

Claims

1. An underwater wireless optical communication device that is awakened by an acoustic signal, characterized in that, The underwater wireless optical communication equipment includes a roof light-transmitting cover (1), an internal optical transceiver array (2), a tank cover (3), a side cantilever bracket (5), an acoustic communication transceiver module (6), a bottom mounting flange (11), a main control unit (13), and a power module (14). The roof light-transmitting cover (1) and the bottom mounting flange (11) are located at the top and bottom of the tank cover (3), respectively. The bottom mounting flange (11) is connected to the bottom end face of the tank cover (3) through multiple bottom support columns (10), and is connected to the bottom end face of the tank cover (3) through the flange on the bottom mounting flange (11). The device is fixedly deployed on the underwater platform via a mounting hole (12); the main control unit (13) and power module (14) are sealed inside the outer casing (3); the internal optical transceiver array (2) is watertightly mounted below the top light-transmitting cover (1) and includes a wireless optical communication receiver decoding module and a wireless optical communication transmitter encoding module; the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) integrates a low-power acoustic receiver module and an acoustic transmitter module, and is fixedly mounted on the side of the outer casing (3) via a side cantilever bracket (5); the device also includes three watertight connectors. These are, respectively, the left watertight connector (7) at the bottom of the tank, the right watertight connector (8) at the bottom of the tank, and the bottom watertight connector (9) at the bottom of the acoustic communication transceiver module; the left watertight connector (7) at the bottom of the tank is interconnected with the bottom watertight connector (9) at the bottom of the acoustic communication transceiver module to realize cross-tank signal transmission between the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) and the main control unit (13); the right watertight connector (8) at the bottom of the tank is connected to the main control system of the external parent platform; the main control unit (13) performs logical operations based on the acoustic signal data collected by the acoustic communication transceiver module (6). The main control unit (13) determines and instructs the power module (14) to control the power supply of the internal optical transceiver array (2). In standby mode, the main control unit (13) cuts off the power supply of the internal optical transceiver array (2) through the power module (14), and only maintains the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) in a low-power listening state. When the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) captures the matching acoustic wake-up signal, it triggers the main control unit (13) to wake up and perform two-way handshake verification. After successful verification, the main control unit (13) instructs the power module (14) to turn on the power supply of the internal optical transceiver array (2) to establish a high-speed optical communication link.

2. The underwater wireless optical communication device awakened by an acoustic signal according to claim (1), characterized in that, The outer wall reinforcing ring (4) is an annular rib arranged at intervals along the axial direction of the tank cover (3), and is integrally formed or fixedly connected with the tank cover (3). It is used to improve the compressive strength of the equipment and assist the internal optical transceiver array (2) in dissipating heat to the seawater medium under full power operation.

3. The standby wake-up and communication method of the underwater wireless optical communication device awakened by acoustic signals according to any one of claims 1-3, characterized in that, Includes the following steps: Step 1, Low power consumption monitoring: The main control unit (13) controls the power supply module (14) to cut off the power supply to the internal optical transceiver array (2) and maintain the acoustic communication transceiver module (6) to perform acoustic monitoring at extremely low power. Step 2, Sound signal wake-up: After the sound communication transceiver module (6) captures the wake-up signal sent by the external target device, it generates a hardware interrupt signal and transmits it across the cabin to the main control unit (13) to wake it up; Step 3, Two-way handshake authentication: After waking up, the main control unit (13) controls the sound communication transceiver module (6) to transmit sound wave verification messages, and confirms that the wake-up is valid after verifying the correct reply returned by the target device; Step 4, Optical communication data exchange: After the handshake is successful, the main control unit (13) instructs the power supply module (14) to turn on the power supply of the internal optical transceiver array (2), establish a high-speed optical link for data interaction, and cut off the power supply again to return to the sleep state after the transmission is completed or the communication timeout.

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