Deep Learning-Based Timing Offset Estimation for Deep-Sea Vertical Underwater Acoustic Communications

This study proposes a novel receiver structure for underwater vertical acoustic communication in which the bias in the correlation-based estimation for the timing offset is learned and then estimated by a deep neural network (DNN) to an accuracy that renders subsequent use of equalizers unnecessary. For a duration of 7 s, 15 timing offsets of the linear frequency modulation (LFM) signals obtained by the correlation were fed into the DNN. The model was based on the Pierson-Moskowitz (PM) random surface height model with a moderate wind speed and was further verified under various wind speeds and experimental waveforms. This receiver, embedded with the DNN model, demonstrated lower complexity and better performance than the adaptive equalizer-based receiver. The 5000 m depth deep-sea experimental data show the superiority of the proposed combination of DNN-based synchronization and the time-invariant equalizer.