Creating a dive computer with Location and Communications

[Manjula Ellepola]

For the technically minded SB divers:

Short video of our development stage. Shows DiveLine sending messages from one device to another using Ultrasound through the air.


Appreciate comments

Best regards
Manjula

 

[Barefootdog]

As a purely recreational diver with anti social tendencies this probably wouldn't appeal to me.
I enjoy the solo experience in a place where the phone never rings.
Underwater jibber jabber....meh....
Bad enough they allow cell phones on dive boats....

Not for me but I wish you success on an interesting project. If it works it will find a home somewhere even if its limited to professional and search/rescue units and the like..

 

[Caveeagle]

Late to this thread, but have enjoyed the read..

I was a late adopter of smartphones, and typically resist both "overkill" technology and carrying extra gear that's not needed.

Butt....Diving is different. Redundancy is a core pillar of diving safety. Most people I dive with carry either two dive computers, or a backup bottom timer.

My point is that I think there might be an evolving category that could solve for several needs with one unit. I love my Shearwater Perdix, and have a hard time imagining replacing it in the near future. However, the Hollis DG02 that I currently use as a back-up bottom timer, could easily be replaced if there was a good option that brought more features to the table that I value.

So, what features would I be willing to pay for?

-Bottom Timers with basic dive profile (back-up) DATA
*Basic emergency deco info would be ok.. but less of a need for that. (Probably not much value in trying to out-do Shearwater yet)
-AI and Location monitoring for myself and dive teams. (might be great for PS dive teams and divemasters)
*I do question how readily dive boats and DMs will embrace this. I even wonder if it might give them increased liability if/when a diver drowns or gets lost and they could be accused of not watching "close enough".
-I like the idea of cheap/small locator beacons that could used. In tech diving, there might be some great benefits for marking a spot, similar to using a strobe.
-GPS and PLB functionality would be of value. I don't want to carry either one as an "extra" piece of hardware, but if it was part of a bundle.. it would be nice.
-I don't see myself txting underwater, but a digital note board / slate might be nice

>>What about biometrics? I have often wondered about monitoring pulse rates, or breathing rates while diving.
>>Integration to other existing technologies? The CooToo connects to your smartphone, but why not connect to the dive/nav computer?
>>Its nice that I can now wirelessly connect my Perdix to by iphone/iPad to download and sinc to cloud based dive logs, but I am really wanting to avoid the middle step. A dive computer that can just update the cloud based dive-logs directly would be great. I like to review them on my iPad, but I don't like the extra step when I am in a hurry.

 

[Manjula Ellepola]

Thanks for the comments above. I can understand the early adopters of any new technology would tend to be the specialists and then trickle down from there if successful.

 

[Rred]

Manjula- Those of us on secured systems where cross-site scripting and such are turned off, can't access your video. There's simple nothing but a blank space.

Perhaps you could also simply list a URL to view it directly at?

 

[Manjula Ellepola]

Here is the direct link:

 

[Manjula Ellepola]

lol

Try:
youtube.com/watch?v=CsMVkGU3Srk

 

[Rred]

Do you have an unshown waterproof mini-keyboard yet? Or are you planning to just send 4 or 6 canned messages?
Modems and ultrasonics are old news. Integration with all the rest, making it waterproof and compact, and getting range, and how messages will be composed, these are all things that are critical and not shown yet.

 

[Manjula Ellepola]

Good if it is old news as it is lesser of a burden to convince people that you can send messages through water using sound. However I suspect that this must be the first time many viewing the video has seen ultrasonics being used.
This is work in progress and we will post more vids to answer more questions.

 

[Rred]

Back when the Polaroid SX70 was a radical new thing and it was revealed that the Harrier jets used similar patches to determine what was level during landing, Polaroid used to sell ultrasonic transducer kits for experimenters. So, using these on land, from kits, goes back 40(?) years. Sending speech or data, these days it is all the same if you're digital, is how cell phones do all the talking. And hydrophones were in use before WW2. All the key bits, all old tech.
Putting it in a small waterproof package, the implementation, is "just engineering". (Which is not to put down engineering!)
Or perhaps "just a matter of money" versus market size.