AquaTools: An Underwater Acoustic Networking Simulation Toolkit

Abstract

High cost of development and deployment coupled with the complexity of the underwater acoustic channel makes it important to develop simulation tools which can assist in investigating underwater sensor networks and mobile autonomous underwater vehicular communications. Some recent developments have led to simulators which provide the ability to simulate mobile and stationary underwater acoustic communication, however, they do not take into account factors such as ocean acidity, salinity and temperature, which too have effects on the channel. In this paper we present an overview on the AquaTools simulation toolkit, some background on channel models utilized and an excerpt of the results obtained during testing and validation of the simulator