Hydromea Developed Optical Wi-Fi Technology For Subsea Use To change the pace for a bit, let’s talk about unconventional networking technology, or to be more precise, data transfer. We all know about and use devices which transmit and receive data wirelessly, with the medium being different frequencies of radio waves as per principle. When you consider going underwater and maintaining a reliable and satisfyingly fast data transfer, things get a little bit complicated. It is possible to use typical mediums such as radio waves or even acoustics, but the results are extremely slow and unreliable. Scientists of Hydromea have been working on a solution to this problem and found it by making use of optical data transfer. This means that data is transferred over a fast blinking light source which acts as a modem. This device goes about by the name of LUMA and it emits blue light, which has been found to be the optimal color due to transparency spectrum of murky seas. In terms of distance at which the LUMA can operate, it has been tested in most savage of conditions and the maximum distance at which it can transfer data in the most difficult conditions has been set at 50 meters. The biggest problem here was developing an optical receiver which is sensitive enough to detect light at that distance and at the same time recognizes the correct light source. This is a huge accomplishment which can definitely assist in subsea offshore operations and we might even see this technology being implemented in standard ROVs (Remotely Operated Vehicles) in the oil and wind industry. Source: Tech Explorist Editor’s note: This is an archived news piece from the start of our blog. For the newest articles we would recommend our homepage where you can find the latest technology news that are paired with Guides, as well as troubleshooting tutorials. We also just recently started filling our user manual archive, so if you’re in need of a specific manual, that’s the right section for you.
