LUMA™ Optical Modems
LUMA™ – High-speed through-water wireless communication from Hydromea. Our optical modems are compact, power efficient, and operate from the splash zones down to 6’000m depth. Now boasting data transfer rates up to 10 Mbit/s over distances up to 50 m!
Plug & Play
LUMA is designed with flexibility in mind. In its base configuration it is a transparent link between your legacy systems, making it very easy to integrate. Plug&Play is not just marketing language when it comes to LUMA.
Versatile
LUMA will wirelessly transfer high volume of data in a variety of subsea applications during construction, inspection, monitoring and repairs in the offshore energy sector. In the science & research sector it will serve as a regular environmental data uplink from an ADCP, a camera or other sensors on the sea floor. With the small size, low power consumption and high data rates, LUMA telemetry opens up connectivity possibilities underwater in many industries where submerged assets need to be monitored or inspected in real time.
Fast
Luma modems are lightning fast. They can send data at up to 10 Mbit/s bandwidth enabling truly HD-quality video transfer wirelessly through water in real time.
From the splash zone to 6’000m depth
With LUMA, splash zone communication is now affordable and safe. As a result, LUMA offers unparalleled connectivity and can be a vital agent for real-time monitoring of structures in digital twin systems.

Features

Ultra-compact and low weight

Ultra-low power sleep mode with optical wake-up with less than 10mW

High speed data transfer up to 10Mbit/s

Low latency

Four transmission power levels:
2 – 5 W

Wide supply voltage range

Minimal multi-path distortion

Encryption of data link, ad-hoc networking (optical, on request)

120-degree beam cone

High tolerance to ambient light

6000m depth rated

Infinitely programmable
for mesh networks (on request)
Models

LUMA X
LUMA X is our flagship optical communication modem, with the highest speeds and longest range. Offering HD-quality video and 4K image transfer in real-time in a compact titanium housing, it opens up new possibilities for subsea communication.

LUMA 500ER
LUMA 500ER long-range optical communication modem is perfect for underwater infrastructure, AUV data harvesting, subsea wireless connectivity and bottom to surface data upload.

LUMA 250LP
LUMA 250LP low-power optical communication modem is perfect for subsea data download, wireless interfacing between ROV and battery-powered deep-sea infrastructure.

LUMA 100
LUMA 100 short-range, low-power optical communication modem is a drop-in replacement for hot-stab data connectors for subsea data download, wireless interfacing between ROV and battery-powered deep-sea infrastructure.
Comparison table
LUMA 100 | LUMA 250LP | LUMA 500ER | LUMA X | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Dimensions: | 100 x 50 x 30 mm | 100 x Ø60 mm | ||
Weight in air: | 250 g | 650 g | ||
Weight in water: | 50 g | 300 g | ||
Data rate (optical) | 100 kbit/s | 250 kbit/s (up to 600 kbit/sec at reduced range) | 500 kbit/s | up to 10 Mbit/s |
Software features: | Error detection, FEC, auto-wakeup (upgradeable for additional features) | |||
Range: | up to 2m | up to 7 m | greater than 50m | greater than 50m |
Supply voltage: | 12 – 36 V | |||
Power consumption: | ||||
– sleep mode: | 3 mW | 3 mW | ||
– active, receiving: | 0.5 W | 0.5 W | 1 W (low power receiving mode available) | 0.5 W |
– transmitting: | 1- 2 W | 2 – 5 W | 2 – 5 W (typ.) | 2 – 5W (typ.) |
Beam pattern: | 120 deg. Cone | |||
Interface: | RS232 / RS485 | Ethernet, RS232/RS485 | ||
Depth rating: | 6000 m | 6000m | ||
Connector: | SubConn MCIL6M (or as requested) | SubConn Ethernet Circular 8 pins | ||
Data rate (cable): | 9.6 – 512 Kbit/s | 10/100 Mbit/s |
Applications

Data download from submerged sensor platforms (landers)

Wireless interfacing between ROVs/AUVs and deep sea infrastructure

Continuous monitoring

Construction data relay

Water to air connectivity without cables (splash zones)
Would you like to discuss your application?
Use cases
Many subsea construction operations require real time data access to enable informed decision to be made during the installation phase.…
Germany’s oceanographic research institutes successfully used Hydromea’s LUMA 250LP wireless nodes in depths down to over 4000m. The scientists of…
REDUCING RISK AND IMPROVING SPEED IN A SUBSEA MANIFOLD INSTALLATION WITH LUMA WIRELESS OPTICAL NODES
Hydromea’s LUMA, a wireless high-speed underwater communication system, was successfully deployed by a leading subsea operator, during a subsea manifold…
Videos
Resources
FAQ
No, all LUMA devices are transceivers and can send and receive data (half-duplex).
A number of configurable forward error correction schemes, which increase the reliability of the communication channel, are implemented. Faulty packages are automatically rejected on the receiving side using a checksum which is automatically added on the sending side. In order to maximize the transparency and versatility of the LUMA optical communication nodes, no additional protocol layers (such as TCP) which would ensure data delivery through resending, are implemented.
Yes, any light source can be a possible source of interference. The level of interference however strongly depends on the type and brightness of the light source. Typically, constant light sources (such as sunlight, incandescent lights) cause much less (if any) interference than pulsed light sources (dimmed LEDs, fluorescent tubes with an electronic ballast).
Yes, the ranges indicated in the data sheet are for clear water. An increased turbidity decreases the maximum range.
Not necessarily. While the maximum range indicated in the data sheet requires a direct line of sight, indirect light from reflective surfaces or scattered light from particles in the water will often allow for a communication link even without line-of-sight.
Recent news
October 15, 2020 – Lausanne, Switzerland – Hydromea, a Lausanne-based EPFL start-up is awarded undisclosed grant funding from Scotland-based Oil…
October 8, 2020 – Lausanne, Switzerland – Hydromea is launching its new patent-pending subsea wireless communication modem LUMA X. The…
Today Hydromea is front and center of the Ecole Polytechnique de Lausanne (EPFL) web site. The occasion is a recent…
Hydromea continues to be in the top 100 Marine Technology companies in 2020 according to Marine Technology Reporter that has…