We present the design, development, and experimental validation of BlueME, a compact magnetoelectric (ME) antenna array system for underwater robot-to-robot communication. BlueME employs ME antennas operating at their natural mechanical resonance frequency to efficiently transmit and receive very-low-frequency (VLF) electromagnetic signals underwater. To evaluate its performance, we deployed BlueME on an autonomous surface vehicle (ASV) and a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) in open-water field trials. Our tests demonstrate that BlueME maintains reliable signal transmission at distances beyond 200 meters while consuming only 1 watt of power. Field trials show that the system operates effectively in challenging underwater conditions such as turbidity, obstacles, and multipath interference-- that generally affect acoustics and optics. Our analysis also examines the impact of complete submersion on system performance and identifies key deployment considerations. This work represents the first practical underwater deployment of ME antennas outside the laboratory and implements the largest VLF ME array system to date. BlueME demonstrates significant potential for marine robotics and automation in multi-robot cooperative systems and remote sensor networks.

翻译：本文介绍了BlueME的设计、开发与实验验证，该系统是一种用于水下机器人间通信的紧凑型磁电（ME）天线阵列。BlueME利用工作于自然机械共振频率的磁电天线，在水下高效收发甚低频（VLF）电磁信号。为评估其性能，我们在开放水域实地试验中将BlueME部署于自主水面航行器（ASV）和遥控水下航行器（ROV）上。测试表明，BlueME在超过200米的距离上能保持可靠信号传输，且功耗仅为1瓦。现场试验证明，该系统在浑浊水体、障碍物和多径干扰等通常影响声学与光学通信的复杂水下环境中仍能有效工作。我们的分析还考察了完全浸没对系统性能的影响，并指出了关键部署注意事项。此项工作实现了磁电天线在实验室外的首次实际水下部署，并构建了迄今规模最大的甚低频磁电天线阵列系统。BlueME在多机器人协作系统和远程传感器网络等海洋机器人学与自动化领域展现出巨大潜力。