matt215
Contributor
my concern is not technology, but that there will not be anything left to see underwater.
What is the future of Scuba Diving and the technology we use
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Mike Boswell
Contributor
One day, sitting on our boat after a rather chilly dive off of La Jolla, I watched a plump, sleek Harbor Seal frolic in the kelp. I admired the animal's hydrodynamic design and marvelous agility and grace as he glided effortlessly through the water, and I wondered if his fur coat did a better job keeping him warm than my 7-mil wetsuit.
I said to my wife Katy "I wish I could be more like him!".
Katy glanced at my stomach, smiled, and changed the subject.
I said to my wife Katy "I wish I could be more like him!".
Katy glanced at my stomach, smiled, and changed the subject.
OP
Diving Lore
Contributor
No, but in the future... who knows?
I'd like to see an easier to use underwater camera that the typical layman like myself can use and take quality pictures and be cost effective like the digital point and shoots I use on the surface. Why can't they make a dslr body smaller, yet contained in a completely waterproof housing that's the size of what a normal body on the surface would be like? I guess I'm just not very good with UW cameras and would like the manufacturers to fix it for me at a low cost. I can't be the only one out there who dives and sucks at taking UW pics! 
Hatul
Contributor
This topic is pessimistic, because as someone pointed out, Scuba technology has plateaued. There are small improvements but no real breakthroughs. Scuba gear is still very heavy and awkward and I don't see any change without severely increasing costs, which would further decrease Scuba access to the beginner.
Miflex hoses are a notable advance, as well as LED dive lights. Dive computers are getting much better and more advanced. I don't think much about the HUD masks-- I certainly don't want a 1000 dollar mask.
I think practical underwater communication is close to being realized, as well as a practical underwater navigation device.
I also think it's just a matter of time before soft lead comes encased in waterproof pouches so lead does not leech into water and onto other gear.
Adam
Miflex hoses are a notable advance, as well as LED dive lights. Dive computers are getting much better and more advanced. I don't think much about the HUD masks-- I certainly don't want a 1000 dollar mask.
I think practical underwater communication is close to being realized, as well as a practical underwater navigation device.
I also think it's just a matter of time before soft lead comes encased in waterproof pouches so lead does not leech into water and onto other gear.
Adam
pittyyofool
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surgically implanted gills!
widget
Contributor
I think that future technology is very dependant on the ability of the market to support it. I know of an Italian gauge manufacturer who has already perfected and could produce a digital spg tomorrow (I am just using this as an example as someone said they hoped to see it) however the product is expensive and they are not sure that it will sell, so for now its just shelved.
Companies like Sheico have the ability and the technology to already produce softer more flexable neoprene with better thermal capabilities, but again the cost factor is prohibitive, so they wait.
The technology for more modern scuba equipment is already here, a lot of the gear you find today is 5 or more years old technology in an everchanging pretty cosmetic cover, but the recreational scuba market is very small, costs of putting a new product into the market are enormous and those costs have to be carried by the consumer, the majority of whom, honestly, right now, are not ready to make that leap.
Companies like Sheico have the ability and the technology to already produce softer more flexable neoprene with better thermal capabilities, but again the cost factor is prohibitive, so they wait.
The technology for more modern scuba equipment is already here, a lot of the gear you find today is 5 or more years old technology in an everchanging pretty cosmetic cover, but the recreational scuba market is very small, costs of putting a new product into the market are enormous and those costs have to be carried by the consumer, the majority of whom, honestly, right now, are not ready to make that leap.
Eric Sedletzky
Contributor
I think this is very accurate.
There is already a ton of cheap dive gear coming from overseas that is supplying an already shrinking niche market. Unless some of these things get developed for let's say the military then slowly leak into the recreational market. But to develop super cutting edge gear for a recreational sport that essentially has everything it needs and more, the numbers simply aren't there.
I think the gear gadgetry has peaked and is actually cooling down, and diving is slowly returning to less gear and simpler technology. I remember the HUB (remember that thing?) I think that contraption was the pinnacle of contraptions and gear has begun to simplify from there.
More technology also means more things that can go wrong. There's something to be said for good old analog gear that works great, it's reasonable, and it's bullet proof.
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