ScubaCapsule : New 'It's Got EVERYTHING' Computer

[nimoh]

The GPS in the iPhone uses WiFi hotspots and cell towers. Exactly the same as talking on your phone.

I don't have the ScubaCapsule software, obviously, but as soon as I posted that prior message, I took my iPhone 4 off the charger, put in airplane mode, and turned on Angry Birds. That runs the display (actively, not just a passive image) and the audio. I even turned up the volume all the way to maximise the power usage. Just as an aside, I'm really sick of the Angry Birds song now.

After an hour, I'm at 88%. That means I've got a good 8.5 hours of usage, non-stop, screen lit. Tha seems plenty to me. And if not, I know they offer a combination drybag/solar powered rapid charger on their website.

not exactly, the iPhone use A-GPS (Assisted GPS). It will use all of satellites, cell towers and wi-fi hotspots to try to get the most accurate information as fast as it can.

 

[Dirty-Dog]

not exactly, the iPhone use A-GPS (Assisted GPS). It will use all of satellites, cell towers and wi-fi hotspots to try to get the most accurate information as fast as it can.

Well, yes, you're right. However, that doesn't change the point of my post, which is that it's the radio portion of the iPhone (and all smart phones) that sucks down the battery.

I doubt many of us will ever be in the position of needing to run the dive software for more than 8 hours, with the screen on the entire time.

 

[RonR]

After an hour, I'm at 88%. That means I've got a good 8.5 hours of usage, non-stop, screen lit. Tha seems plenty to me. And if not, I know they offer a combination drybag/solar powered rapid charger on their website.

You're doing better than me, but my phone is an old 3GS. They have probably improved power utilization, and batteries lose capacity as they age. I agree 8 hours is in an acceptable range- some current commercial products don't do much better. That is consistent with what they said at DEMA. Depending on your situation, charging is not always convenient. Particularly if it needs to come out of the case in a wet environment. For most users, that duration would be fine.

This is certainly possible to do, but it's not as easy as it might seem.

Ron

 

[DiveNav]

......tissue groups in deco theory are mathematical abstractions. If the underlying theory doesn't account for them, more is not better...... Decompression computations are broad brush guidelines, not precision calculations.

I agree. This is not data communication .... Nyquist-Shannon does not apply here

......The real-time aspect of decompression algorithm implementation is a lot more challenging than it seems superficially......

On this one I don't agree too much. We have been running real-time decompression on several platforms and the processors used in today cellphones have plenty of processing power (if they are not doing something else)

...... and takes a lot of testing. ..

On this one I agree 100% .... but we have the best - and the most cost effective - testing environment.

Alberto (aka eDiver)

 

[DiveNav]

...... which is that it's the radio portion of the iPhone (and all smart phones) that sucks down the battery.....

to be more precise .... the power hog in the RF circuitry is the Power Amplifier (in the Transmitter side of the radio).
The Rx path is almost irrelevant ....

 

[kundalinichi]

There hasnt been much press on it at all - they also dont reply to emails, at all. I dont see the apps on the market yet. Cool idea, ill give it time though. Because I havent seen it posted yet, here is an example video of the HUD when using the camera - hopefully its a bit more customizable... regardless of battery time, for the "pro" version, you have 3 algorithm choices - Buhlmann ZHL-16, Buhlmann UT-32, and RGBM. Scuba Capsule prototype - deco dive, camera HUD in action - YouTube

 

[RonR]

On this one I don't agree too much. We have been running real-time decompression on several platforms and the processors used in today cellphones have plenty of processing power (if they are not doing something else)

Alberto (aka eDiver)

Processing power is not an issue at all, that's not what I meant. Running the calculations is fairly trivial- for Haldanian based algorithms, anyway. Iterative bubble models are more computationally intensive, but still well within the capability of modern processors used in smart phones. We distinguish running the algorithm in real time (easy) from the real time implementation of the algorithm within a user interface and in actual diving (hard).

The difficulty with the real time aspect is in developing a firmware design that takes into account all the possible actions a diver might take in every conceivable diving scenario, and that understands how to appropriately apply the algorithm, display the correct information, and assign tasks the correct priorities, given all the unexpected possible paths a diver might take. It's a lot less clear-cut than it seems on the surface (sorry). And a dive computer has to do that while performing other tasks, processing data from sensors, error checking, storing history, perhaps reading and displaying a compass, etc. It's a firmware design problem that gets more challenging the more sophisticated the computer's user interface becomes.

Desktop simulation can be very valuable for sorting out the design concepts and checking algorithm calculations, but ultimately testing needs to be carried out on the actual hardware.

Ron

 

[fdog]

This is certainly an interesting concept. The most important item, I believe, is the maturity of the software that runs the deco - it has to be absolutely solid.

Oh, and the possibility of Patent infringement...I will watch with interest as this plays out.




All the best, James

 

[Dirty-Dog]

You're doing better than me, but my phone is an old 3GS. They have probably improved power utilization, and batteries lose capacity as they age. I agree 8 hours is in an acceptable range- some current commercial products don't do much better. That is consistent with what they said at DEMA. Depending on your situation, charging is not always convenient. Particularly if it needs to come out of the case in a wet environment. For most users, that duration would be fine.

This is certainly possible to do, but it's not as easy as it might seem.

Ron

I saw in their "options" page a drybag/solar powered rapid charger....

 

[RonR]

I saw in their "options" page a drybag/solar powered rapid charger....

I live in the Pacific Northwest- "solar" is not a very familiar concept around this time of year.