Creating a dive computer with Location and Communications

[Lorenzoid]

I like scuba for reasons similar to why I like hiking, bicycling, and other refreshingly low tech activities. I appreciate advancements in safety technology, such as PLBs. I am not a caveman. But what's optimal for me is the least obtrusive, least expensive gear that still keeps me safe.

 

[dmaziuk]

While we're at it, add the in-reg mike and underwater speech recognition. And Siri.

Seriously, since you already have the technology to communicate underwater, just go FFM with built-in voice comms for $1,500.10.

 

[jseyfert3]

While we're at it, add the in-reg mike and underwater speech recognition. And Siri.

Seriously, since you already have the technology to communicate underwater, just go FFM with built-in voice comms for $1,500.10.

You can already buy FFM with built-in voice comms for $1100. It's already an off the shelf product.

 

[Diving Dubai]

1. A main display unit that allowed me to
   • cycle through custom messages similar to responding to a call with text on your phone.
   • See a direction and distance to other main units
   • communicated with small beacon units to see bearing and distance.
2. Beacon units that would be relatively cheap and would allow me to
   • hang one off the boat, in my buddies pocket (if they dont have a main unit) or whatever i may need. Think marking a wreck or item for salvage etc.
   • Allow someone looking for me to find me (think underwater PLB). Imagine if cave divers had one in a pocket and it allowed them to be found by someone with a display unit. We have several threads about missing divers at the moment, a cheap egg-sized unit that I could keep in a pocket that would allow someone to find me underwater would appeal.

.

To expand on some of the remarks made by @RainPilot I concure with all of the above I highlighted

Certainly I'd see a benefit of being able to have a direction and distance to my buddy, or the boat. When guiding others, I'd certainly like to be able to see their gas contents, while I carry out checks, I don't find it easy to hold a mental picture of 4 or more pressures

If I'm running dives off the boat, then having a master unit that can interrogate teh units held by the divers would be great. knowing their depth and distance. I'm my location we rely on the divers using a DSMB before they surface. Until that comes up you don't know their precise location.

If I have divers on deco, while I know their plan, but seeing a real time read out of their depth from the boat could be a real boon. The more real time info I could get on the boat, the happier I'd be - If I could get a read of gas pressures and deco times etc onto my master, it would take a lot of guess work out of the equation

And yes some means of surface communication. If a diver gets swept off a site, being able to get a bearing if not distance would be useful, as would some sort of communication from the diver to the boat (even if it's mostly standard messages. Underwater text, not for me as yet, as hand signals are quick, my typing is slow

As mentioned before Liquivision had some of these ideas in one of their products - the lynx

Obviously my wish list is more focused on managing groups of divers, rather than just between a buddy team.

 

[dmaziuk]

To expand on some of the remarks made by @RainPilot I concure with all of the above I highlighted

Certainly I'd see a benefit of being able to have a direction and distance to my buddy, or the boat. When guiding others, I'd certainly like to be able to see their gas contents, while I carry out checks, I don't find it easy to hold a mental picture of 4 or more pressures

Lynx's been able to do pretty much all of the above and is now on the $660 closeout -- not counting the transmitters.

You can already buy FFM with built-in voice comms for $1100. It's already an off the shelf product.

Yeah, you're right. But at least they'll be competitive there: I don't quite see how all the features of the floundering Lynx plus the inconvenience of touch-typing an SMS in thick gloves on a phone-sized screen underwater would translate into skyrocketing sales figures. I bought a Note just so I can a) make the fonts large enough to see without glasses and still have some screen real estate and b) write with wacom pen and not wrestle with the on-screen keyboard. But I wouldn't want to wear it on my wrist while diving.

 

[Diving Dubai]

Lynx's been able to do pretty much all of the above and is now on the $660 closeout -- not counting the transmitters.

Correct. It could read upto 9 transmitters, locate your buddy upto 100 yards? and located the boat if they'd lowered the boat transmitter. I looked in detail at the Lynx some time ago but it's special batteries, apparent fragility of battery case - put me off.

It didn't offer any ability for a dive op to track divers - which if the new product is to be a higher end device, I'd like to see (of course my expectations may be uneconomical)

I've been with some dive ops that would loan a Nautilus Lifeline (the mk1 with the VHF radio) to their guests - you made a $10 per trip donation which went to a local charity) It was great for a piece of mind in blue water places with less than great coast guard and the risk of being blown off sites.

I remember being an early adopter of a mobile phone in '91 it had the occasional use and wasn't' that great (talk time of 15 mins and standby of 4 hrs max) Look where we are now.

 

[Manjula Ellepola]

Diving Dubai, very valuable input. The more input we have like this the better. Please keep it coming

 

[DennisS]

I'd buy an underwater nav unit that supplied lat lon coordinates underwater for mapping

 

[KeithG]

What's the problem? i.e. why would "I" buy this?

Seems like the OP has a potentially neat technology solution and is asking people to take a kick at it. I claim the OP has it all backwards. Who is the buyer? This appears to be a solution searching for a problem.

What fundamental problem(s) is this new technology supposed to solve?
And who has these problems?
And how much money do these problem childs really have?

More than once in my high tech life I was involved in creating a new and novel high tech solution. Unfortunately we could never find the problem children to sell it to. On reflection we had a solution and were stuck with trying to find a problem that it would solve...

 

[DiveNav]

Manjula.
Welcome to Scubaboard.
I will be listening too.

Alberto