Efficient link management for the wireless communication of an ocean current turbine testbed

We describe a wireless link management framework for an ocean platform-to-shore communication system that uses time series forecasting to predict the available link capacity using ocean platform sensor data metrics to boost link robustness and to efficiently manage quality of service. Based on the predicted link capacity the OCTT Wireless Link (OWL) manager coordinates transmission scheduling of XML/HTTP sensor data at the web service layer and controls queue management for IP packet routing. To validate our framework, we developed a link management tool, the OCTT Wireless Link (OWL) manager to ensure optimal throughput and quality of service (QoS) for the wireless communication system linking ocean-based instrumented platforms with users on the shore. OWL applies sensor fusion to the platform attribute data which is then used to forecast the throughput of the wireless link in the harsh and rapidly fluctuating oceanic environment. OWL continually sends this forecast to the Queue Manager (QM) and when the signal power is forecast to drop outside the ideal range, using Linux networking tools, OWL provides bandwidth provisioning at the IP layer over each of the wireless radios in the network. This article describes our work on this project and experimentation with the OWL manager applied to sensory data collected from early stage OCTT platform testing.