Kyocera has demonstrated underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) technology that achieved 5.2 Gbps in lab tests, targeting video feeds and sensor data for ocean exploration and underwater robotics.
The Japanese corp aims to enable real-time, large-volume data transmission for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and drones used in marine surveys, structural inspections, and resource exploration.
Underwater communication faces significant challenges: acoustic systems manage only a few Kbps, while radio frequency delivers a few Mbps at short range. Military submarines use very low frequency radio waves to communicate over long distances while submerged, understood to support data rates of only about 300 bits per second.
The system Kyocera tested is currently limited to …
Kyocera has demonstrated underwater wireless optical communication (UWOC) technology that achieved 5.2 Gbps in lab tests, targeting video feeds and sensor data for ocean exploration and underwater robotics.
The Japanese corp aims to enable real-time, large-volume data transmission for autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and drones used in marine surveys, structural inspections, and resource exploration.
Underwater communication faces significant challenges: acoustic systems manage only a few Kbps, while radio frequency delivers a few Mbps at short range. Military submarines use very low frequency radio waves to communicate over long distances while submerged, understood to support data rates of only about 300 bits per second.
The system Kyocera tested is currently limited to short distances, however, the company is aiming to extend the range and achieve higher data rates with ongoing research.
Kyocera’s high-speed underwater wireless optical comms tech in a lab environment
In laboratory tests using freshwater, the research team successfully transmitted data at 5.2 Gbps. Kyocera told us a separate development team focused on commercialization achieved a speed of 750 Mbps, even in harsh marine environments, with a maximum of 1 Gbps.
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The trials were conducted in an offshore saltwater environment over distances of 15 cm to 1.5 m, with moderate water turbidity, to evaluate system stability and performance under various conditions.
The system uses gallium nitride (GaN) blue semiconductor lasers, and Kyocera has developed an optical front-end circuit with a wide bandwidth exceeding 1 GHz, which - we’re told - enables significantly more data throughput than other underwater comms methods.
A spokesperson said it developed an algorithm to make full use of the wide bandwidth characteristics of the device, which is how it achieved a transmission rate of 5.2 Gbps.
However, the PHY (physical layer) specification under development does not yet include a mechanism for dealing with variable environmental factors, such as light scattering, absorption, and turbulence in the water.
Kyocera told us it intends to build a product targeting 2 Gbps over short distances, commercializing it by March 2027. With these speeds, live underwater video streaming, sensor data transfer, and collaborative inspections may become possible.
TThe UWOC tech will be showcased by Kyocera at the CES 2026 show in Las Vegas in January. ®