Davos Livestream Powered by Deep-Sea Technology

“Talking to someone live from space is actually relatively easy,” says Connor Boals, Head of Media at OceanX. “Underwater, it’s a completely different story.” 

That challenge defined OceanX’s livestream to the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting on January 17, 2024 in Davos, Switzerland. As part of a collaboration with OceanX Education, renown marine biologist Dr. Diva Amon joined a live panel from inside a submersible operating 350 meters below the surface in the Outer Islands of Seychelles, while OceanX Science Program Director Mattie Rodrigue spoke from mission control aboard the OceanXplorer. 

Live from the Deep Sea: The Next Frontier for Knowledge and Action

Unlike space, seawater blocks conventional radio and satellite signals. To transmit live video from depth, OceanX relied on an optical modem that uses light to send data through water. For the connection to work, the submersible and a remotely operated vehicle had to remain precisely aligned in open-ocean conditions, with waves, currents, and a constantly moving ship, while pilots controlled the system from the surface. 

It was a highly coordinated operation executed in real time. 

Once the signal reached the ship, it still had to be mixed live onboard and transmitted by satellite to Switzerland. Latency posed a critical risk. Early tests showed delays of up to 15 seconds. Through rapid iteration during a single full rehearsal, the team reduced the delay to near real time, making a live conversation possible. 

This session, entitled Live from the Deep Sea: The Next Frontier for Knowledge and Action moderated by TIME Magazine’s Sam Jacobs, examined the tension between humanity’s ability to explore the ocean and the responsibility to conserve and protect it. 

“This was a huge leap of faith and trust with the World Economic Forum production team,” Boals says. “They put an incredible amount of trust in us to pull off a very unique and technically intensive live moment as part of their biggest production of the year.” That collaboration across science, media, and global partners made the broadcast possible. 

OceanX took on this complexity for a reason. Bringing people into the deep ocean, live and unfiltered, turns discovery into understanding. And understanding is essential to protecting what remains largely unseen.