This Digital Radio Gets Messages to the World’s Remotest Locations

Rhizomatica’s HERMES is an open-source digital shortwave radio system and software stack, paired with the Mercury modem, that carries files and encrypted data over the high-frequency (3-30 MHz) band by bouncing signals off the ionosphere. Using small, roughly 20-watt transmitters, it routinely establishes links on the order of 400-600 kilometers without satellites or terrestrial towers, delivering substantially higher digital-data throughput than traditional HF voice systems. Rather than voice-only transmissions, HERMES treats images, emails, GPS coordinates, manifests, and voice memos as files sent over a reliable data pipeline, supporting use cases like telemedicine, logistics, and evidence transfer where clarity and completeness matter.

Encryption is built into HERMES as an optional feature to protect users in sensitive or high-risk locations despite varying amateur-radio regulations; operators can enable or disable it depending on local rules. Rhizomatica deploys the system with remote, indigenous, and off-grid communities in countries such as Bangladesh, Brazil, and Ecuador, and reports concrete impact - one deployment enabled artisanal fishers to send an SOS and GPS position and coordinate a successful rescue hundreds of kilometers offshore. The design emphasizes low-cost, portable infrastructure for emergency communications and community connectivity where laying cable or using satellites is impractical.