Underwater wireless optical communication for swimmer feedback using IrDA transceiver

Abstract

Effective short-distance communication of real-time data from sensors on the body of a competitive swimmer to a head-up display faces a number of environmental problems. Presented are the benefits of utilising IrDA transceivers for wireless optical underwater communications using timing jitter as a measure of the link performance looking at the impact of air bubbles and transmission through the water surface. A number of conclusions are drawn for improving the link performance without increasing the limited power budget of battery-driven devices.