Enhancing Underwater Communication with 5G-Integrated IoUT for Advanced Marine Research

Abstract

The Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) has now become an innovative shift toward improving marine research and technology. However, existing underwater communication systems experience high latency low bandwidth, and unreliable data transmission due to signal fading in water. These limitations prevent accurate real-time data interaction, which is essential in the application areas, for instance, environmental control, underwater surveys, and disaster distress signals. In an endeavor to overcome these challenges, the present work suggests a new framework to incorporate 5G technology within the IoUT environment. The proposed architecture adapts with the help of the ultra-low latency, high bandwidth, and massive connectivity features of 5G networks and enables proper communication between Underwater sensor nodes, surface gateways as well as cloud data centers. This system consists of floats with a base station that has 5G for effective pick up of data from sunk devices to the ground systems. The performance of the proposed 5G-integrated IoUT system is assessed using the simulation-based performance evaluation methodology covering data throughput gain latency reduction and energy efficiency as the most crucial parameters. The presented results prove that 5G improves the effectiveness and scalability of underwater communication compared to acoustic or optical connections. In addition, the real-time analysis with cloud computing and the use of machine learning allows for addressing more significant and specific marine problems, such as protection, climate modeling, and sustainable fishery. Tackling all these issues, this research presents a sustainable solution by increasing the communication efficiency underwater use of resources more efficiently and encouraging researchers, technologists, and engineers to invent newer technologies for marine systems that are more efficient and environment friendly. Apart from solving existing technological deficiencies, the incorporation of 5G into IoUT creates a strong foundation for the future evolution of underwater technologies, enabling the creation of a robust interconnected underwater environment.