Abstract:Underwater acoustic networks have been widely studied and applied in the fields of three-dimensional acquisition, transmission, and perception of ocean information. The location of nodes in underwater acoustic networks is an important information needed in the protocol design and diverse application of underwater acoustic network. Conventional positioning solutions such as relying on global positioning system positioning and using conventional underwater acoustic positioning technology to obtain the location of underwater acoustic network nodes encounter problems such as inability to directly apply underwater, low efficiency in multiple node localization, and the requirement for precise time synchronization. Consider that the interaction between network nodes during the operation of underwater acoustic networks can simultaneously provide a response-ranging capability, thus achieving integrated communication and positioning capability without the need for precise synchronization paralleling to network communication. This article designs a scheme for underwater acoustic integrated networking-positioning, (UAINP) providing the design details of core links such as network communication, ranging, positioning, error-correction, etc., and develops a small-scale experimental underwater acoustic integrated networking-positioning system, and then conducts lake trial experiments. The results of the lake trial preliminarily demonstrate the effectiveness of the integrated networking-positioning capabilities of the proposed system.