Application scenarios of nautical ad-hoc network for maritime communications

Abstract

In terrestrial wireless communications, high data-rate transmission can be readily achieved by installing base stations on the ground. However, the same system may not be adapted to maritime communication due to the geographically restricted nature of the sea, and therefore, MF/HF modems, capable of long-distance transmission, with low data-rate are frequently employed in maritime communication. Maritime satellite communication through Inmarsat is conventionally used to compensate for the low data-rate transmission of MF/HF modems, but its high cost still remains as a main drawback. In order to enhance the transmission speed with a fairly low price, in general, a network whose architecture is similar to Vehicular Adhoc Network (VANET), that allows peer-to-peer communications without base stations, i.e., ad-hoc network, is crucial. Herein, we propose an ad-hoc network for nautical environment, which is named as Nautical Ad-hoc Network (NANET). In this paper, scenarios toward NANET development are described and analysis of multiple access and duplexing schemes for corresponding NANET scenarios is discussed. A guideline for further research and developmental strategies on NANET is also suggested. ？2009 MTS.