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Radio waves do not travel easily in water, so the ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicles) must be connected by cables to the surface in order to send commands and return video. In many cases they are also supplied with energy through these cables.

In any case, as the New Atlas writes, since the cable can be very heavy, large enough surface vessels are needed to transport it, while it can also stick to objects on the seabed.

ExRay is launched by Hydrome as "the world's first wireless submarine drone" and uses the company's existing Luma underwater communications system, which transmits binary data through water with light pulses. In particular, the Luma sends pulses of 470 nanometers of blue LED light between two optical modems - one on board and one on the surface. The data is transmitted at a speed of 10 megabits per second, so even HD video from the ExRay camera can be transmitted practically without lag.

However, there are still limitations: Alexander Barr, co-founder of Hydromea, says the boat has a range of 50 meters in clear water and in complete darkness - and is reduced if conditions are more complex.

The company aims for a range of at least 100 meters, and even more if the technology evolves further. Also the boat is intended mainly for operation indoors (such as ballast tanks on boats) so the range is not a serious problem at this stage.

The ExRay is 70 cm long, weighs 7 kg and has seven propellers.

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