As technology development continues at pace in the subsea space, a young innovative group out of Switzerland—Hydromea—unveiled the prototype of what it is calling the "world’s first" wireless underwater drone in a pool demo on May 11, 2021.
According to the company, the drone can fit into a backpack, can be remotely controlled, and sends HD video back in real time without any physical connection to the pilot, helping to deliver significant benefits in a number of inspection scenarios in confined flooded spaces, such as hydropower dams, closed waterways and ballast tanks on ships, reducing the cost and time-to-results, eliminating safety risks of dangerous inspections performed by humans today.
“Our underwater drone works without a cable and sends full HD video stream back in real time," said Igor Martin, co-founder and CEO of Hydromea, effectively mitigating the risk of getting stuck in complex flooded spaces, completing its mission sans tethers, instead using a wireless optical system.
“Since radio signals do not travel under water, Hydromea had to develop a new technology to control the drone: a wireless optical system which uses light to transmit high-bandwidth data," said Felix Schill, co-founder and CTO of Hydromea. "With our unique technology that is robust and miniaturized, we can finally cut the cord and unleash the freedom of portable robotics underwater.”