The deployment of wireless sensing and control networks is of interest to the U.S. Navy for the maintenance of vital automated ship operation. The challenge of such onboard wireless networks is the ship's hull, which obstructs electromagnetic wave propagation and limits connectivity. Mechanical penetration of the bulkhead to run cabling compromises the structural integrity of ship compartments. Ultrasonic signaling has been proposed to connect isolated radio networks inside metal compartments and achieve reliable coverage without bulkhead penetration. However, the reverberant nature of the acoustic channel becomes a network throughput bottleneck and limits the performance of narrowband communication techniques. Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) has been shown to be a promising technique to mitigate the frequency selectivity of ultrasound channels without the need for complex equalizers. A high-data rate OFDM transceiver was developed to enhance through-hull communication by exploiting the slow-varying nature of the ultrasonic channel. Simulated and measured results of thisTransceiver have shown the potential to increase throughput while adhering to bit error constraints. This enhancement provides throughput and reliability to support high rate network applications below decks on navy vessels while maintaining network connectivity.
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