Subsea-technology company Hydromea has revealed its new subsea wireless communication modem, LUMA X. The LUMA X can beam data using light at up to 10 Mbit/s with a 120° cone. The company says that enables real-time streaming of HD-quality video and 4K images wirelessly through water, allowing the operators of autonomous underwater vehicles to monitor its interventions from its control rooms onshore.
“Radio waves do not penetrate water well,” said Igor Martin, the cofounder and chief executive officer of Hydromea, “so resolving high-bandwidth communication underwater, for streaming high volumes of data, is a huge challenge. With our focus on miniaturization and scalability, LUMA X is the first optical device of its kind in such form factor with these impressive characteristics. It is also extremely power-efficient, which makes it suited for battery-powered applications to collect data without running a cable. Moreover, it is sensitive enough to not requiring direct line of sight to communicate in murky waters.”
“LUMA X is a big step forward in providing unlimited data access to the subsea environment with a lot of versatility built in,” Felix Schill, cofounder and chief technology officer of Hydromea, said. “It can be used as a modem and WiFi-like access points around subsea infrastructure. The wide-angle beam gives subsea vehicles connecting via the LUMA X a lot of freedom of movement. The small size of the modem and its standard transparent link allow for easy retrofitting into legacy systems.”