Dolphins Inspire Tsunami Warning System

Scientists from Berlin's Technical University have developed a wireless technology based on the communications systems of dolphins. The five-member research team was able to build a system based on the sea mammals' natural ultrasound systems. The technology could in the future replace complex and expensive data transportation systems which involve thousands of kilometers of cable, which, for example, would be necessary for a tsunami warning system in the Indian Ocean. Dolphins can differentiate between ultrasonic signals directed at them and those they encounter that have been reflected off underwater surfaces such as cliffs or the ocean floor. Researchers based their research on this characteristic and have developed a network which allows data to be transported over a distance of up to two kilometers in the ocean. A prototype of the system already exists and researchers are now working on a more rugged model which could transfer data over distances of between six and eight kilometers.