Emerging Trends in Underwater Optical Wireless Communications: Challenges, Technologies and Optimization
A special issue of Journal of Marine Science and Engineering (ISSN 2077-1312). This special issue belongs to the section "Ocean Engineering".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 November 2025 | Viewed by 60
Special Issue Editors
Interests: radio-over-fibre technology and microwave photonics; signal processing in optical communications; modelling of nonlinearities; photonic integrated circuits
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
The rapid evolution of the Internet of Underwater Things (IoUT) is redefining how we interact with marine environments, enabling applications such as ocean monitoring, underwater exploration, aquaculture, disaster prevention, and maritime security. At the heart of this transformation lies Underwater Optical Wireless Communication (UOWC)—a high-bandwidth, low-latency, and energy-efficient technology with the potential to meet the demanding requirements of underwater sensor networks.
However, UOWC still faces significant challenges, including beam misalignment, severe attenuation, ocean turbulence, and reduced localization accuracy—all exacerbated in turbid waters. These factors hinder the deployment of reliable long-range and mobile underwater networks. Overcoming these barriers is essential to realize large-scale, robust, and environmentally sustainable IoUT systems.
This Special Issue seeks contributions that address the latest advancements and emerging trends in UOWC, focusing on:
- Channel modeling and characterization
- Modulation and coding techniques
- Optical beam steering and alignment technologies
- Constellation shaping and adaptive transmission
- Wavelength division multiplexing and visible light communication
- Machine learning for optimization and control
- Energy-efficient system design
- Hybrid communication systems (e.g., optical-acoustic)
We welcome both theoretical and experimental works, as well as comprehensive reviews, that explore innovative solutions for enhancing the range, speed, scalability, and robustness of UOWC systems — paving the way for the next generation of underwater wireless technologies.
Dr. Henrique Manuel Salgado
Dr. Joana dos Santos Tavares
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Marine Science and Engineering is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- underwater optical wireless communications (UOWC)
- underwater wireless sensor networks (UWSNs)
- channel modeling
- modulation techniques
- beam steering, alignment and tracking
- energy efficiency
- turbidity and scattering effects
- hybrid acoustic-optical systems
- machine learning for UOWC
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