The Problem
Underwater acoustic communication fails in shallow, cluttered, or noisy environments where conventional single-frequency modems cannot distinguish signal from multipath interference. Offshore renewable energy and subsea robotics require robust underwater communication.
Dolphin echolocation processing inspires S2C acoustic modems achieving accurate underwater communication where conventional sonars fail.
Dolphins navigate and hunt in murky oceans by emitting clicks and analysing returning echoes—a biological sonar system of extraordinary sophistication. Their clicks span multiple frequencies simultaneously, enabling them to extract object distance, velocity, material composition, and internal structure from reflected signals. The nervous system processes these echoes in real time, isolating target signatures amidst background noise and multipath reflections. Conventional underwater acoustic modems use single-frequency continuous signals, suffering severe degradation in cluttered environments (rocky seabeds, shallow water, heavy rain). EvoLogics reverse-engineered dolphin auditory processing to develop Sweep-Spread Carrier (S2C) acoustic modems that span frequency ranges similar to dolphin clicks. Instead of holding a single frequency, S2C signals sweep continuously across bands, encoding data in the sweep pattern. Receiver algorithms, inspired by dolphin neural processing, correlate incoming echoes against expected sweep patterns, extracting data from signals previously buried in noise. Field tests show EvoLogics modems achieving reliable communication in conditions where conventional modems achieve zero throughput: underwater obstructions, shallow turbulent channels, harbour noise. This breakthrough has enabled offshore wind installation, subsea robotics, and oceanographic research previously impossible due to communication limitations.
