Development of Underwater Short-Range Sensor Using Electromagnetic Wave Attenuation

In this paper, we discuss a novel underwater short-range sensor using electromagnetic (EM) wave attenuation. We use the revised Friis-Shelkunoff formula to calculate the EM wave attenuation underwater as a function of distance. This requires knowledge of the antenna gain underwater, which is very different from the gain in air, and also the attenuation constant which depends on the water conductivity. We calibrated the gain and attenuation in a ranging experiment and also in a 2-D localization experiment. Both methods agreed, confirming that in situ calibration of a 2-D localization experiment is feasible. The localization results show good accuracy, validating the sensor model and showing that multipath effects can be made negligible in such an experiment.