A biomimetic quasi-static electric field physical channel for underwater ocean networks

Abstract

Nature has had millions of years to develop and optimize life in the ocean. Nocturnal oceanic animals and those that live at depth cannot rely upon optical notions of vision to navigate, hunt, or avoid predators. Instead, many rely upon an electroreceptive capability achieved through a dense grid of electric field (Voltage) sensors. In this work, we develop and characterize an artificial system which seeks to mimic this capability. The detection range of our resulting prototype was ≈ 5cm. The position accuracy in the middle of the transmit axis was ± 5cm after calibration.