Embedding data in an audio signal, using acoustic OFDM

Abstract: The OFDM technology has been extensively used in many radio communicationtechnologies. For example, OFDM is the core technology applied in WiFi, WiMAXand LTE. Its main advantages include high bandwidth utilization, strong noise im-munity and the capability to resist frequency selective fading. However, OFDMtechnology is not only applied in the field of radio communication, but has alsobeen developed greatly in acoustic communication, namely the so called acousticOFDM. Thanks to the acoustic OFDM technology, the information can be em-bedded in audio and then transmitted so that the receiver can obtain the requiredinformation through certain demodulation mechanisms without severely affectingthe audio quality.This thesis mainly discusses how to embed and transmit information in audioby making use of acoustic OFDM. Based on the theoretical systematic structure, italso designs a simulation system and a measurement system respectively. In thesetwo systems, channel coding, manners of modulation and demodulation, timingsynchronization and parameters of the functional components are configured in themost reasonable way in order to achieve relatively strong stability and robustnessof the system. Moreover, power control and the compatibility between audio andOFDM signals are also explained and analyzed in this thesis.Based on the experimental results, the author analyzes the performance of thesystem and the factors that affect the performance of the system, such as the typeof audio, distance between transmitter and receiver, audio output level and so on.According to this analysis, it is proved that the simulation system can work steadilyin any audio of wav format and transmit information correctly. However, dueto the hardware limitations of the receiver and sender devices, the measurementsystem is unstable to a certain degree. Finally, this thesis draws conclusions of theresearch results and points out unsolved problems in the experiments. Eventually,some expectations for this research orientation are stated and relevant suggestionsare proposed.