This startup is building the Internet for underwater things

Pioneering underwater network technology

There are a few marine research stations scattered around the globe (like needles in a pile of algae). More and more intelligent objects at sea are being created (sensors, buoys, autonomous vehicles, probes). The foundation of an underwater wireless network is also being established, which is as accessible and reliable as IoT, the Internet of Things Underwater (IoUT). As a pioneer in this field, the Italian company WSense has made favorable changes this year.

The startup’s adventures begin at Sapienza University in Rome, where Professor Chiara Petrioli is in charge of a research laboratory. “We started looking at underwater networks 10 years ago,” she said. “We wanted to find a way to reliably transmit information using components like routers over large areas.” This research has resulted in solutions that “achieve a level of reliability and performance that was not possible before” and several international patents have been filed. Potential applications have aided the creation of a by-product: WSense launched in 2017 with a number of PhDs and engineers with backgrounds in acoustics, network architecture, signal processing, among others. other areas.

Today, the startup has a staff of 50 with offices located in Italy, the UK and Norway. It has about 20 customers – companies and scientific organizations “Green economy”. Its innovations were honored in 2022 by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology Digital Challenge and the Blueinvest award from the European Commission.

Implement acoustics, optics, and AI

As you can imagine, “wireless” and “underwater” were not made for each other. In fact, anything that makes up for Wi-Fi in the air won’t work underwater. Radio waves are greatly attenuated, communication by light or sound varies greatly depending on temperature, salinity, ambient noise – everything has to be reconsidered and that’s exactly what WSense did.

Their solution is based on an innovative combination of mid-range audio communication and short-range optical LED technology, with a touch of artificial intelligence.

More specifically, underwater “nodes” are deployed. Data transmission between nodes is permanently optimized by AI: Whenever sea conditions change, algorithms modify the path followed by byte packets.

The system can send data up to 1000 meters at 1 kbit/s and up to several Mbit/s over shorter distances, Petrioli explains. This bandwidth is not comparable to that of the air network “but we are working to expand it”. However, it is enough to transmit the environmental data collected by the sensors.

The resulting network is stable, reliable and open: Multiple devices (sensors, transducers, media) of various types and brands can be connected. WSense originally designed its platform for shallow water (up to 300 m depth), but now they claim it can operate at a depth of -3000 m, opening its doors to the ocean.

On the surface, floating (or posted on land nearby) gateways connect this local network to the cloud and to the rest of the world – IoT joins IoT.

WSense designs all the in-house software (from networking software to data processing) as well as all necessary hardware: nodes, probes, modems and gateways.

WSense devices are integrated with many sensors. “They measured parameters like temperature, salinity, pH, chlorophyll, methane, ammonium, phosphate, CO2, waves and tides, ambient noise,” explains Petrioli. In short: everything needed for real-time monitoring and extensive monitoring of the submarine environment.

Aquaculture was one of the first areas to show interest in WSense (and remains an important customer area). Deploying a wireless network covering cages without cumbersome cabling will connect everything providing habitat monitoring and fish farm control. Cameras and sensors, as well as robots.

“We are in the process of developing an automated robotic system,” says Petrioli. “We can enable teams of robots to communicate and collaborate, send data, receive instructions, and change their tasks in real time.”

Studying how animals adapt to climate change

At the request of a Norwegian customer, WSense R&D recently developed a wearable device for microscopic fish. It makes it possible to closely observe the animal’s life and health, and to monitor water quality. “All of this goes in the same direction: providing the tools to go further in the direction of more sustainable fish farming,” says Petrioli.

Similarly, WSense’s platform can make it significantly easier to survey and work around offshore stations and underwater infrastructure such as gas and oil pipelines.

It is also effective in a more natural environment. The startup has deployed its network in sensitive locations and environmental hotspots. For example, scientists use it to study how algae, corals and animals adapt to climate change. According to Petrioli, on the ground and continuously, “this is much more precise than what we can do from the surface or from satellites.” The solution also monitors locations of great risk to humans, such as volcanic areas.

The WSense platform is also deployed at archaeological or cultural sites, such as the luxurious underwater Roman city of Baiae, near Naples (Italy), which is part of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. By measuring pollution and the impact of climate change or the potential damage caused by visitors, it contributes to their protection in the same way it has for a long time for sites. archeology on land.

Just like webcams located around the world, “people connected by WSense can also advertise these websites”. They open the door to education and tourism, offering the opportunity to reach a larger audience than just scientists, companies or governments.

Define standards for IoUT

The startup is also launching a “micronode” that connects to a watertight tablet to enhance the diving experience. This hot new product doesn’t really represent WSense’s true ambitions. The Italian company doesn’t just offer “smart devices”, unlike others. It doesn’t want to be just another component of our already fragmented knowledge of the ocean.

On the contrary, it wants to unite all the components.

With this in mind, WSense has ensured the interoperability of its submarine network. For the same reason, it is also working to make implementation simple and cost-effective, both of which are prerequisites for its true purpose: defining standards for IoUTs.

For this purpose, WSense must enhance its reputation as well as its platform. In January, it got a big boost from a place that hasn’t seen any oceans in 200 million years: Davos, in the heart of the Swiss Alps.

In its most recent edition, the prestigious World Economic Forum (WEF) has awarded 10 companies, including WSense, the winner of the Ocean Data Challenge, an event to determine the the most promising technology in data collection and management to protect the oceans. The award gives access to the WEF network, an ideal platform to find people who can support global scaling.

Immediate effect: WSense spent the next weeks answering a series of questions.

“It was huge,” Petrioli said. “We can talk to political and scientific leaders, senior managers, who are often not aware of the possibilities. We can explain to them that the Internet of Underwater Things is not deep technology but a ready-to-deploy solution.”

A quick positioning in the subsea communications market is quite interesting (Forbes estimates it to be worth $3.5 billion, with a 22% year-over-year increase). The urgency lies elsewhere, however, Petrioli insists.

“We cannot delay the adoption of these solutions. We must not continue to ignore too many things about ocean mining or climate change. We must understand today, because tomorrow may be too late.”