NETSIM

netsim is a hybrid software/hardware system for realtime simulation of acoustic modem signals in a virtual ocean.

Relevant publications:

• NETSIM: A Realtime Virtual Ocean Hardware-in-the-loop Acoustic Modem Network Simulator, UComms 2018, Lerici Italy. Paper, Presentation

Software

This section is a summary; for more detail, see the Architecture page.

The software components of the core project are open source (LGPL/GPL) and reside in this repository:

• https://github.com/GobySoft/netsim

See Building for how to install or build this software.

Additionally, a processor plugin is required to implement the simulated acoustic signal propagation. While a example processor (processor_echo) is implemented in the netsim repository, it doesn't do anything useful. For real work, we have implemented a plugin for the Laboratory for Autonomous Marine Sensing Systems' (LAMSS) Virtual Ocean Simulator. The Virtual Ocean resides in these software repositories:

• https://github.mit.edu/lamss/lamss
• https://github.mit.edu/lamss/lamss-shared
• https://github.mit.edu/lamss/missions-lamss

The netsim processor plugin specifically is located at:

• https://github.mit.edu/lamss/lamss/tree/master/src/lib/lib_netsim_processor

While open source, some of the LAMSS repositories are not publically accessible for academic privacy. For access and details on installation and usage, please contact lamss.nosp@m.@mit.nosp@m..edu.

Hardware

The required hardware components include:

• A Linux server / workstation
• A JACK Audio compatible sound card, typically with many input/output channels.
• Acoustic modem development boxes that provide analog audio input and output.

The reference system (audioserver) that GobySoft maintains is comprised of:

• Dell PowerEdge R6415 Server running Ubuntu Linux amd64
  • AMD EPYC 7351P 2.4GHz/2.9GHz, 16C/32T
  • 8GB RDIMM RAM
  • 480GB SSD SATA
• M-Audio Fast Track Ultra 8R USB Audio card with 8 input and output channels (discontinued but available through the used market)
• WHOI Micromodem Software Development Boxes

GobySoft audioserver hardware: