Underwater sensor basics

This page covers underwater sensor basics.It mentions underwater sensor application note and underwater sensor vendors or manufacturers.

As the name suggests underwater sensors are used to collect information about the underwater environment. Underwater vehicles are used to provide many capabilities to these sensors such as data retrieval, connectivity establishment and network management.

Based on unique underwater communication requirement various underwater sensors have been developed. Refer Underwater communication and networks tutorial➤➤.

underwater sensor Application Note

The figure-1 depicts internal architecture or block diagram of underwater sensor. As shown it consists of following major modules/components:
• Sensor
• Power Supply
• Memory
• CPU
• Acoustic Modem
• Sensor interface circuit

These underwater sensor devices are used to measure quality of water including its characteristics e.g. temperature, salinity, density, acidity, conductivity, chemicals, oxygen, pH , hydrogen, turbidity, dissolved methane gas etc.

Following are the types of underwater sensors:
• interferometric and refractometric sensors
• magnetoelastic sensors
• Clark-type electrode
• Disposable sensor(which detects ricin)
• hydrothermal sulfide, voltammetric sensors for spectrophotometry, silicate and gold-amalgam electrode sensors
• amperometric microsensors for H₂S measurements
• force and torque sensors
• quantum sensors to measure light
• Sensors to measure harmful algal blooms

Underwater modem usually operates down to the depth of 120 to 200 meter with communication range of about 3 Km. The modem can support communication rate of about 7 Kbps.

underwater sensor Manufacturers or Vendors

Following are the manufacturers or vendors of underwater sensor and underwater acoustic modem:

Useful product vendors or manufacturers

RF and Wireless Terminologies