Acoustical Observation With Multiple Wave Gliders for Internet of Underwater Things

One of the challenges of Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) is the design of nodes for collecting information from underwater, with features of low cost, long term, long range, voyage routing, and real-time communications. Wave glider, has shown great potential acting as IoUT nodes through its persistent, long-range traveling, and flexibility underwater. In this article, we propose an architecture of IoUT, involving multiple wave gliders as nodes for acoustical observation. We present the target localization method via acoustical observation of nodes with multiple wave gliders deployed underwater, by which precision of bearing estimation of each node is required to achieve high precision of localization. With the data collected, we apply a compensation method of bearing estimate when the hydrophone array is rotating during the observation. The feasibility of acoustical observation of wave gliders has been validated through both simulation and sea trial data, which is of great potential to be nodes for constructing IoUT.