The US Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute is using lasers to identify objects in murky water costal waters, as well as to communicate.
"When the technology is fully developed, it will be used onboard a group of small, co-operating underwater robots," said the Institute, which has military 
applications in mind.
The project will investigate concepts in concurrent laser imaging and communications where dual-purpose imaging and communications system components are distributed within the robots.
Scientists at Harbor Branch will use computer simulation to predict the underwater laser light field in variable environmental conditions, and combine this with measurements from their underwater test facility.
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