Ultrasonic Through-Metal Communication Based on Deep-Learning-Assisted Echo Cancellation

Abstract

Ultrasound is extremely efficient for wireless signal transmission through metal barriers due to no limit of the Faraday shielding effect. Echoing in the ultrasonic channel is one of the most challenging obstacles to performing high-quality communication, which is generally coped with by using a channel equalizer or pre-distorting filter. In this study, a deep learning algorithm called a dual-path recurrent neural network (DPRNN) was investigated for echo cancellation in an ultrasonic through-metal communication system. The actual system was constructed based on the combination of software and hardware, consisting of a pair of ultrasonic transducers, an FPGA module, some lab-made circuits, etc. The approach of DPRNN echo cancellation was applied to signals with a different signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) at a 2 Mbps transmission rate, achieving higher than 20 dB SNR improvement for all situations. Furthermore, this approach was successfully used for image transmission through a 50 mm thick aluminum plate, exhibiting a 24.8 dB peak-signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) and a about 95% structural similarity index measure (SSIM). Additionally, compared with three other echo cancellation methods—LMS, RLS and PNLMS—DPRNN has demonstrated higher efficiency. All those results firmly validate that the DPRNN algorithm is a powerful tool to conduct echo cancellation and enhance the performance of ultrasonic through-metal transmission.