Brizo wearable underwater position tracker

[descend]

I just found this Kickstarter campaign for a computer that tracks your path in 3D underwater using its inertia / gyroscope sensors, mounted on a BCD. Seems like it launched two days ago.

Kickstarter campaign link here
Website here

Not sure of the reputation of the creators, but it sounds like a great idea for a lot of reasons (3D mapping showing where a dive site is stressed by tourists maybe?)

 

[michael-fisch]

Ooh, cave mapping the easy way!

Michael

 

[Jonn]

We’ve seen several similar proposals come and go on Kickstarter and elsewhere over the years. The website mentions its “custom designed IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit)” in passing, but has much more to say about the app and the cloud and the ‘experience’ and such. Precise underwater navigation is a very hard problem that many a backyard inventor has broken their teeth on. Submarines can do it reasonably well, but they have superpower military budgets and several tons of equipment to work with. It may possibly be that these people have made a fundamental breakthrough in the science, packaged it in a colorful plastic widget, and are marketing it to punters on Kickstarter. Possible, but unlikely.

It would be nice to be proven wrong, but I think I’ll wait for others to take the risk here!

 

[tridacna]

Too darn expensive. If it could direct me back to the boat, perhaps...

 

[broncobowsher]

There are plenty of good G and gyro chips on the market already. And they think they are going to invent a new one just for this project?

The challenges are getting the calibration and zero to hold true and not drift. You are stacking tolerance buildup over time. and your position is based on changes from your last position, witch is based on the last position...

 

[tech_diver]

I'm generally dubious of technology breakthroughs on crowdfunding sites. The technology sector has venture capitalist with piles of money to invest. They would be the first to buy into this. Why didn't they?

Also, with all the potential value that such a break-through has, why market it to the economic microorganism that is sport diving? They should be going for the billions of military and petro dollars.

As someone else said, I'd be happy to be proven wrong.

 

[emoreira]

If this device only tracks the path followed during the dive, and has no functionality to show to the diver the way back to the entry point, it's a waste of money and lacking a fundamental information.
Some time ago there was a nice discussion about Ariadna (ARIADNA.TECH Diver Navigation) device, which should be near commercial launch, though price is prohibitive.

 

[descend]

Some time ago there was a nice discussion about Ariadna (ARIADNA.TECH Diver Navigation) device, which should be near commercial launch, though price is prohibitive.

That one looks a lot better! They're also working with the army apparently - sounds smarter than a random kickstarter.

After reading the comments in the Brizo kickstarter page, I have very little faith. It sounds like they expect their "algorithm" to solve a lot of tracking problems for them, and I doubt they have those solved yet. That'd take months of testing to actually be decent. The accuracy they expect to get is low anyway, so it doesn't sound thaaaat useful.

 

[lmorin]

If this device only tracks the path followed during the dive, and has no functionality to show to the diver the way back to the entry point, it's a waste of money and lacking a fundamental information.
Some time ago there was a nice discussion about Ariadna (ARIADNA.TECH Diver Navigation) device, which should be near commercial launch, though price is prohibitive.

If it acquires its starting position (which it must, if it maps in 3-D), then it at least has the possibility of plotting a route that returns to the start. Whether that is or will be a feature of this particular item is another question. It also should be very simple to press a button asking for the already acquired route to be plotted in reverse.

 

[tridacna]

If it acquires its starting position (which it must, if it maps in 3-D), then it at least has the possibility of plotting a route that returns to the start. Whether that is or will be a feature of this particular item is another question. It also should be very simple to press a button asking for the already acquired route to be plotted in reverse.

If true, that would be a MAJOR advertised feature. It isn't so it's not.