tkimmons85
Registered
Our department was very lucky to receive federal grant money for a few things this year and one of the items purchased was a Didson Imaging Sonar unit. When i heard about the concept of the device i was very intrigued. Basically its an acoustic sonar image projected onto your face mask through a Heads Up Display. Here it is,
Sound Metrics - DIDSON Diver-Held
The Didson is a game changer in my opinion, gone are the days of methodical rope pattern searches. It gives a diver sight in a zero vis environment. I guess you could compare it to when firefighters first started using thermal imaging cameras to quickly search a smoke filled structure for victims or an egress point. The two opportunites I have had to train with it have been pretty amazing,
In the pool when we first learned how to use the device you could clearly see the lines of tile on the pool bottom, clearly defined images of divers swimming past you, and even see the outline of the divers wrist computer. The best image clarity depends on how close you are to the target and angle of the camera towards the target. Also the scale on the heads up really helps you nail down where you are in reference to the target. The only downside is false images that can occur from acoustic reflections or shadowing. But Im told with experience and training these can be easily identified.
When we first used the Didson in blackwater we used our Rescue Randy as a recovery target. We tied a target bouy to him and placed him at a 30ft depth. When my turn came to locate the target i donned the Didson and HUD. I slowly descend to the bottom and came to rest standing on the bottom. Another cool aspect of the HUD is the digital compass displayed on the screen, letting you confidently search a target area. The first thing I saw was a very large fish swimming 15 ft in front of me. I did a 360 degree sweep looking for a possible target with no results. I had been told the victim was last seen northeast of our position so I started walking in that direction. After i walked 100ft i began to see stationary image begin to appear and gain definition. At about 75ft from the target I could clearly make out a body on the bottom. I moved closer using the HUD scale to judge my distance. At 5 ft I kneeled down and moved forward, my hand resting on the target right away....amazing !
Like the thermal imaging camera for firefighters though we will not view this as a perfect solution. Technology should never be relied upon %100. The basics of our PSD training will always be our way out, our divers are always tied into a dive tender through our comm lines with a safety diver ready to respond.
Sound Metrics - DIDSON Diver-Held
The Didson is a game changer in my opinion, gone are the days of methodical rope pattern searches. It gives a diver sight in a zero vis environment. I guess you could compare it to when firefighters first started using thermal imaging cameras to quickly search a smoke filled structure for victims or an egress point. The two opportunites I have had to train with it have been pretty amazing,
In the pool when we first learned how to use the device you could clearly see the lines of tile on the pool bottom, clearly defined images of divers swimming past you, and even see the outline of the divers wrist computer. The best image clarity depends on how close you are to the target and angle of the camera towards the target. Also the scale on the heads up really helps you nail down where you are in reference to the target. The only downside is false images that can occur from acoustic reflections or shadowing. But Im told with experience and training these can be easily identified.
When we first used the Didson in blackwater we used our Rescue Randy as a recovery target. We tied a target bouy to him and placed him at a 30ft depth. When my turn came to locate the target i donned the Didson and HUD. I slowly descend to the bottom and came to rest standing on the bottom. Another cool aspect of the HUD is the digital compass displayed on the screen, letting you confidently search a target area. The first thing I saw was a very large fish swimming 15 ft in front of me. I did a 360 degree sweep looking for a possible target with no results. I had been told the victim was last seen northeast of our position so I started walking in that direction. After i walked 100ft i began to see stationary image begin to appear and gain definition. At about 75ft from the target I could clearly make out a body on the bottom. I moved closer using the HUD scale to judge my distance. At 5 ft I kneeled down and moved forward, my hand resting on the target right away....amazing !
Like the thermal imaging camera for firefighters though we will not view this as a perfect solution. Technology should never be relied upon %100. The basics of our PSD training will always be our way out, our divers are always tied into a dive tender through our comm lines with a safety diver ready to respond.
