AUDIOWELL Ultrasonic Underwater Communication Solution

Technical Principle: Using Ultrasound as a Carrier to Solve Underwater Wireless Communication Challenges

In underwater environments, electromagnetic waves suffer from severe high-frequency attenuation and extremely short propagation distances, making effective communication difficult. Traditional wired communication methods, on the other hand, limit device mobility and flexibility. The solution introduced by AUDIOWELL takes a different approach, using ultrasound as an information carrier and fully leveraging its physical characteristics of low attenuation, good directivity, and strong penetration when propagating through water.

Ultrasound is essentially a mechanical wave with a frequency above the upper limit of human hearing (20 kHz). Its propagation speed in water is approximately 1,500 m/s – much higher than 340 m/s in air – and it features short wavelengths and moderate diffraction capabilities, enabling precise point-to-point signal transmission in complex underwater environments. The solution uses dedicated transducers to convert electrical signals into ultrasonic waves for transmission through water. At the receiving end, another transducer converts the acoustic waves back into electrical signals. Combined with a proprietary filtering algorithm, the system accurately extracts ultrasonic signatures from the complex underwater acoustic channel, achieving precise perception and data analysis of the underwater environment.

Integration of Three Core Functions: Communication, Ranging, and Positioning

Unlike traditional underwater communication solutions that focus solely on data transmission, AUDIOWELL’s ultrasonic solution integrates three core functions – communication, ranging, and positioning – into a single system, achieving efficient “multi-in-one” integration.

From an acoustic perspective, the propagation speed of ultrasound in a homogeneous medium is constant. By measuring the time difference between the emission of an acoustic wave and the reception of its reflected echo (Time of Flight, ToF), the distance to a target object can be accurately calculated. When combined with multiple base stations arranged at different points and triangulation algorithms, the system can obtain the three dimensional spatial coordinates of an underwater robot in real time, thereby assisting in route planning and intelligent navigation. This acoustic positioning method is unaffected by water turbidity and remains highly reliable even in environments with extremely low visibility.

Auto Docking and Long Distance Communication: Ensuring Operational Continuity

In terms of intelligent operation and maintenance, the solution supports autodocking and battery recharging. When the underwater robot’s battery level is low, the system uses ultrasonic guidance to automatically navigate the robot to the charging base station, enabling unmanned continuous operation. This functionality relies on the ultrasonic solution’s high-precision ranging and shortrange positioning capabilities, ensuring the accuracy and safety of the docking process.

Communication distance and data reliability are key indicators for evaluating underwater wireless communication solutions. AUDIOWELL’s solution achieves a stable communication distance of over 20 meters, offering significant advantages in underwater consumer electronics and light-industrial applications. In terms of data transmission quality, the solution maintains a Bit Error Rate (BER) of ≤10⁻³ and a packet loss rate of ≤1%. These performance metrics are enabled by the physical characteristics of ultrasonic signals – relatively low multipath interference and controllable signal-to-noise ratio over short distances – together with dedicated channel coding and error correction mechanisms, ensuring high-fidelity transmission of control commands and status data.

Building a “Golden Triangle” to Empower Smart Underwater Applications

With its ultrasonic underwater communication solution showcased at the expo, AUDIOWELL uses sound waves as the link to construct a “golden triangle” relationship among three entities: the smart terminal (control side), the underwater robot (execution side), and the base station (energy and data hub). Through realtime, comprehensive monitoring of the underwater environment, the system enables precise control and status tracking of the robot, supporting it in efficiently completing complex tasks such as target localization, data backhaul, and path navigation.

As a leading domestic supplier of smart sensors and actuator solutions, AUDIOWELL is committed to driving the Internet of Everything with “sense & control technology.” The ultrasonic underwater communication solution debuted at this year’s AWE not only demonstrates the company’s deep technical expertise in acoustic sensing and signal processing but also provides a costeffective, highly reliable wireless communication option for applications such as underwater consumer electronics, pool cleaning robots, aquaculture monitoring, and underwater entertainment equipment.

Looking ahead, AUDIOWELL will continue to deepen the deployment of acoustic sensing technologies across more vertical scenarios, using innovative technology to build a smarter, more convenient, and better life.