The present Invention relates to methods and devices for sending and receiving electrical signals through "dissipative" media such as soil, mud, or sea /
fresh water to distances extending to several tens of meters. Present methods for sending through such media use very high-power levels
ranging to
Mega-Watts and employ large equipment.
Very Low Frequency (VLF) and
Extremely Low Frequency (ELF) communication systems used to communicate with submarines are an example. In contrast, methods and devices disclosed here are powered by
general purpose batteries (such as
Lithium-
Ion batteries) and can be used with consumable items as small as a
mobile phone. The invention achieves this functionality by combining near field resonant magnetic
coupling with symbol stretching at the transmitting end and matched filtering at the receiving end. While the range of near field magnetic
coupling is limited to approximately 1' (30 cm), the combination disclosed in the invention enables to send / receive signals extending to several tens of meters. This new technology (the combination) opens several new applications. At present, there is no systematic methodology to detect victims of natural or man-made disasters such as landslides, earthquakes, and disasters where the victims are buried in media such as soil or mud. The invention can be used to add functionality to
consumer devices such as mobile phones or similar so that they can be easily located. Alternatively, a novel device one can easily carry (smaller that the size of a
mobile phone) can be introduced, which would be very useful for communities living in countries prone to natural disasters. Scanning for victims can be done fast by mounting the search device on a
drone. The methods and devices disclosed can also be used for
underwater communication between diver to diver and diver to vessel and the technology is especially suitable for freshwater applications. In addition, this technology can also be used for communication in mines in
emergency situations. It is suggested to use in
emergency situations due to low data rates.