A systematic review on practical considerations, recent advances and research challenges in underwater optical wireless communication

Abstract

Underwater Optical Wireless Communication (UOWC) has gained significant attraction in many underwater activities because of its high bandwidth as compared to radio frequency and acoustic technologies. Underwater Optical Wireless Communication (UOWC) has high stature in underwater observation, exploration and monitoring applications. However, due to complex nature of ocean water, several practical challenges exist in deployment of UOWC links. Qualitative and effective research has been carried out in UOWCs from last few decades. Ambition behind this research systematic study is to provide a comprehensive survey on latest research in UOWCs. Herein, we provide a brief discussion on major research challenges, limitations and development in UOWCs. We provide a periodical review on UOWC issues and potential challenges highlighted in previous studies. In this paper, we have also investigated research methods to gain attention of research fraternity towards future technologies and challenges on the basis of existing approaches. Thus, it is our foremost requirement to provide state-of-the-art analysis of existing UOWCs. Significant deliberation has been provided with recent bibliography.