Aqua-Fi: Underwater WiFi

A team has built an underwater wireless system, Aqua-Fi, that supports internet services, such as sending multimedia messages using either LEDs or lasers. LEDs provide a low-energy option for short-distance communication, while lasers can carry data further, but need more power. The Aqua-Fi prototype used green LEDs or a 520-nanometer laser to send data from a small, simple computer to a light detector connected to another computer. The first computer converts photos and videos into a series of 1s and 0s, which are translated into light beams turning on and off at very high speeds. The light detector senses this variation and turns it back into 1s and 0s, which the receiving computer converts back into the original footage. The researchers tested the system by simultaneously uploading and downloading multimedia between two computers set a few meters apart in static water. They recorded a maximum data transfer speed of 2.11 megabytes per second and an average delay of 1.00 millisecond for a round trip.

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