October 8, 2020 – Lausanne, Switzerland – Hydromea is launching its new patent-pending subsea wireless communication modem LUMA X. The LUMA X can beam data using light at up to 10 Mbit/s with a 120 degree cone. With that, the LUMA X 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 the comfort of its control rooms onshore.
Felix Schill, co-founder and CTO of Hydromea, said: “LUMA X is a big step forward in providing unlimited data access to the subsea environment with a lot of versatility built in. 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.”
Igor Martin, the co-founder and CEO of Hydromea, added: “Radio waves do not penetrate water well, 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.”
Introducing LUMA X
Hydromea focuses its development on affordable, autonomous and miniaturized devices that can be used at any ocean depth for unprecedented data access. LUMA X comes in a titanium housing with serial and ethernet connectors and will be pressure-rated to 6’000 meter depth. It has patent-pending technology to work in various lighting conditions and turbidity.
Founded in 2014, Hydromea is a Swiss-based autonomous underwater robotics company delivering solutions that allow customers to have unparalleled access to subsea data and underwater assets. Ultra-fast and high-volume, real-time data transfer and harvesting bring a paradigm shift in our quest to explore the ocean and understand its impact on the subsea economy.