Implementing error correction to increase transfer reliability : Exploring the viability of implementing an error correcting algorithm to increase the reliability of data transfer in a short message-underwater system, limited by low bandwidth conditions

Sammanfattning

Short-message underwater communication systems are constrained by low bandwidth and limited data rate requirements. Under these constrains, they rely on simple checksums for validation of message transfer between devices. However, checksums offer limited reliability. As underwater exploration grows, there is a greater need for reliable communication systems. A common approach to improve reliability is bandwidth expansion and making use of the larger spread-spectrum. However, in underwater environments, bandwidth is often fixed—limited by the physics of underwater acoustics or the length and quality of underwater cables— making such solutions impractical. In this thesis, we aim to identify the best candidates for algorithms that improve transfer reliability constrained by data size requirements. The hardware aspects of the underwater system were abstracted into software and a comprehensive study of ECC algorithms was performed attempting to balance the size requirements for redundancy and the potential for error correction. Our findings present Hamming code as the most suitable algorithm, resulting in an 18% reduction of error rates, showing promise for implementation into constrained short message-systems.