Research on VDSL and PLC Technology that Enables Long-distance Communication with Underwater Equipment Using Metal Cables

Abstract

In recent years, underwater robots have become rapidly popular. Many of them are communicating with operater using cables, called Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV). However, cables made of metal wires have limitations in communication distance and communication speed. For example, Universal Serial Bus generation 3.0 (USB3.0) is limited the communication distance within about 3 m, and Ethernet (Cat.5e) is limited within about 100 m. For this reason, optical fibers are used for long-distance communication, but they are relatively expensive and difficult to handle. Therefore, in this study, we focused on Very high-bit-rate Digital Subscriber Line (VDSL) and Power Line Communication (PLC) as long-distance communication technologies using metal wires and compared the communication speed and quality of them.