Adaptive Beam Steering and Divergence Control for Underwater Optical Wireless Communication Using Reinforcement Learning

Underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) is a promising technology enabling high-speed, low-latency communication for beyond 5G/6G systems. However, UOWC faces significant challenges due to the complex nature of the underwater channel, including absorption, scattering, turbulence, and dynami...

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Main Authors: Takumi Ishida, Chedlia Ben Naila, Hiraku Okada
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Photonics Journal
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Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11003393/
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author Takumi Ishida
Chedlia Ben Naila
Hiraku Okada
author_facet Takumi Ishida
Chedlia Ben Naila
Hiraku Okada
author_sort Takumi Ishida
collection DOAJ
description Underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) is a promising technology enabling high-speed, low-latency communication for beyond 5G/6G systems. However, UOWC faces significant challenges due to the complex nature of the underwater channel, including absorption, scattering, turbulence, and dynamic sea wave conditions, which complicate static analysis. To address these challenges, we propose a neural network-based beam adaptation technique for UOWC systems, combining deep Q-networks (DQN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) models. These models dynamically optimize beam divergence and steering angles based on the properties of sea waves. Our approach offers a robust solution to maintaining communication quality in diverse and challenging underwater environments. In this work, the turbulence is modeled using the exponential generalized gamma (EGG) distribution, which provides an excellent fit for various types of turbulence. Simulation results show that the proposed LSTM-DQN-based approach consistently outperforms fixed-beam, DQN-only, and heuristic methods in a range of underwater environments. The system successfully compensates for random vessel movements and turbulence-induced intensity fluctuations, ensuring reliable communication. These results highlight the effectiveness of the LSTM-DQN-based method in optimizing beam alignment under various water conditions. Furthermore, a comparison with other machine learning (ML) methods revealed that similar performance can be achieved with those techniques. However, the proposed method demonstrated superior stability. By accounting for variations in vessel size and the movement of the transmitter, we have shown that the proposed method is effective under different environmental conditions.
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spelling doaj-art-c76d4da0ea6640e0b5a40998c26ffc582025-08-20T03:14:28ZengIEEEIEEE Photonics Journal1943-06552025-01-0117311010.1109/JPHOT.2025.356982411003393Adaptive Beam Steering and Divergence Control for Underwater Optical Wireless Communication Using Reinforcement LearningTakumi Ishida0https://orcid.org/0009-0002-6361-482XChedlia Ben Naila1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0556-2745Hiraku Okada2https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2276-6421Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya, JapanInstitute of Materials and Systems for Sustainability, IMaSS of Nagoya University, Nagoya University, Nagoya, JapanDepartment of Information and Communication Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya, JapanUnderwater optical wireless communication (UOWC) is a promising technology enabling high-speed, low-latency communication for beyond 5G/6G systems. However, UOWC faces significant challenges due to the complex nature of the underwater channel, including absorption, scattering, turbulence, and dynamic sea wave conditions, which complicate static analysis. To address these challenges, we propose a neural network-based beam adaptation technique for UOWC systems, combining deep Q-networks (DQN) and long short-term memory (LSTM) models. These models dynamically optimize beam divergence and steering angles based on the properties of sea waves. Our approach offers a robust solution to maintaining communication quality in diverse and challenging underwater environments. In this work, the turbulence is modeled using the exponential generalized gamma (EGG) distribution, which provides an excellent fit for various types of turbulence. Simulation results show that the proposed LSTM-DQN-based approach consistently outperforms fixed-beam, DQN-only, and heuristic methods in a range of underwater environments. The system successfully compensates for random vessel movements and turbulence-induced intensity fluctuations, ensuring reliable communication. These results highlight the effectiveness of the LSTM-DQN-based method in optimizing beam alignment under various water conditions. Furthermore, a comparison with other machine learning (ML) methods revealed that similar performance can be achieved with those techniques. However, the proposed method demonstrated superior stability. By accounting for variations in vessel size and the movement of the transmitter, we have shown that the proposed method is effective under different environmental conditions.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11003393/Underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC)neural networkbeam adaptationlong short term memory (LSTM)deep Q-network (DQN)
spellingShingle Takumi Ishida
Chedlia Ben Naila
Hiraku Okada
Adaptive Beam Steering and Divergence Control for Underwater Optical Wireless Communication Using Reinforcement Learning
IEEE Photonics Journal
Underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC)
neural network
beam adaptation
long short term memory (LSTM)
deep Q-network (DQN)
title Adaptive Beam Steering and Divergence Control for Underwater Optical Wireless Communication Using Reinforcement Learning
title_full Adaptive Beam Steering and Divergence Control for Underwater Optical Wireless Communication Using Reinforcement Learning
title_fullStr Adaptive Beam Steering and Divergence Control for Underwater Optical Wireless Communication Using Reinforcement Learning
title_full_unstemmed Adaptive Beam Steering and Divergence Control for Underwater Optical Wireless Communication Using Reinforcement Learning
title_short Adaptive Beam Steering and Divergence Control for Underwater Optical Wireless Communication Using Reinforcement Learning
title_sort adaptive beam steering and divergence control for underwater optical wireless communication using reinforcement learning
topic Underwater optical wireless communication (UOWC)
neural network
beam adaptation
long short term memory (LSTM)
deep Q-network (DQN)
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11003393/
work_keys_str_mv AT takumiishida adaptivebeamsteeringanddivergencecontrolforunderwateropticalwirelesscommunicationusingreinforcementlearning
AT chedliabennaila adaptivebeamsteeringanddivergencecontrolforunderwateropticalwirelesscommunicationusingreinforcementlearning
AT hirakuokada adaptivebeamsteeringanddivergencecontrolforunderwateropticalwirelesscommunicationusingreinforcementlearning