The DESERT underwater framework v2: Improved capabilities and extension tools

The DESERT Underwater emulation system (http://nautilus.dei.unipd.it/desert-underwater), originally designed for testing underwater acoustic networks, has been recently extended. The new framework now includes multi-modal communication functionalities encompassing low rate and high rate acoustics as well as optics, the capability of testing wireless telemetry for underwater equipment, a connection to the most recent version of the World Ocean Simulation System (WOSS), a modification to the RECORDS system for sea trial remote control, and an interface between external tools, e.g., Matlab, and the EvoLogics modem. In addition, experimental activities are now supported by an accurate real-time event scheduler which has been shown to support, among others, long experiments involving time-division multiple-access (TDMA)-based MAC protocols. These additional protocol schemes from the MAC to the application layer (most of which have been tested in controlled environments and sea trials) now make DESERT Underwater a comprehensive tool for underwater network simulation and experimentation. In this paper, we present the new functionalities developed over the last two years.