Will Air Integration in dive computers replace the SPG?

[Neilwood]

Not steering and brakes! Unless you commute by jet...



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They have had considerable technological integration added in the form of Power assisted steering and ABS braking.

 

[CuzzA]

No, AI is a supplement to my SPG. I also use a Pro Plus for ease of display and logging but as the dive progresses I am cross checking my SPG. With AI on multiple bottles, I would think that data management would become an issue as to which bottle is being displayed.

Some AI computers already allow multiple gases. I've never done it, but maybe someone who has can chime in. I would think software code could be written so that when the pressure changes on the transmitter the computer assumes that's the gas being used and automatically displays that gas (maybe add a "confirm" feature on the computer). Perhaps an alarm would go off if it sensed you were breathing (or free flowing) the wrong gas.

---------- Post added January 12th, 2016 at 08:28 AM ----------

I'll also add another argument "for" AI being universal. Aside from medical problems I think it's safe to assume the top two causes of death are embolism and drowning due to being out of air. AI being universal can almost eliminate any incident of a diver dying because they are out of air.

I know most members of the board find being OOA ridiculous. But it still happens all the time around the world. So AI could also save a lot of lives and would also likely reduce the number of embolism incidents created by a diver shooting to the surface because they are OOA.

 

[dumpsterDiver]

Air integration is different than a transmitter and wrist receiver. Seems the question needs to use the appropriate terminology. Spg and hose is pretty inexpensive.

 

[CuzzA]

Air integration is different than a transmitter and wrist receiver. Seems the question needs to use the appropriate terminology. Spg and hose is pretty inexpensive.

How should the question be worded?

 

[diversteve]

As soon as they build watch battery sized nuclear reactors then there's a possibility to go fully AI w/o redundancy. The failure point in all the $1000+ AI Computers - a $1.29 CR2032 battery as happened to my buddy last year. New off the shelf it lasted two dives. And there's two of them in every setup - or more with multiple transmitters.

 

[chrisch]

Just something else to go wrong. Multiple gases in multiple tanks in a team - no way. Plus what if you don't use a computer? Are you going to air integrate depth timer devices? At the present most basic depth timers you cannot even change the battery.

The sender is in the wrong place on a deco tank. What about stage tanks left in situ? Cave diving for example. Or bailout tanks that can and might be swapped between divers in mid dive.

No. The SPG will never ever be replaced or obselete. It might become more unusual in the recreational scene but that is all.

 

[Lorenzoid]

Negatives: cost and the point you made in post #7 about uniformity/familiarity.

I sold an AI computer and bought a simple brass-and-glass SPG because as I gained more experienced diving and listened to others who said I could dive without checking my gas so often, I was persuaded by the idea that simpler and more uniform is better than more complex and more diverse. Your logic that everything analog and/or mechanical in our lives is slowly being replaced by digital electronics seems sound to me, but if I could get rid of the electronics in, say, my car and have it work just as well for me, I would. I can hardly make a phone call anymore with my Android phone, the thing is so complex and does things I didn't intend it to do. Old-school mechanical stuff just feels comforting. For all I know, it's a fallacy that such things are more reliable than electronics.

 

[kombiguy]

Negatives: cost and the point you made in post #7 about uniformity/familiarity.

I sold an AI computer and bought a simple brass-and-glass SPG because as I gained more experienced diving and listened to others who said I could dive without checking my gas so often, I was persuaded by the idea that simpler and more uniform is better than more complex and more diverse. Your logic that everything analog and/or mechanical in our lives is slowly being replaced by digital electronics seems sound to me, but if I could get rid of the electronics in, say, my car and have it work just as well for me, I would. I can hardly make a phone call anymore with my Android phone, the thing is so complex and does things I didn't intend it to do. Old-school mechanical stuff just feels comforting. For all I know, it's a fallacy that such things are more reliable than electronics.

I don't know about reliability, except in an anecdotal way, but I agree about the "feel" issue. We are analog creatures, and use digital only when necessary. How many people have digital watches? Or digital speedometers in their car? The human body and mind seems to be most comfortable with analogs. Or perhaps I'm just an old fart.

 

[Wookie]

AI technology is proven to work. With every new computer and transmitter created, logic tells me the reliability gets better and better. I personally own an AI computer and it has never failed me. I'm also considering removing my SPG from my rig.

I beg to differ. Yours may be awesome, but I see more than half fail on any liveaboard trip. You don't want to speak about specific brands, OK, but it doesn't matter if it's hosed or hoseless, or which manufacturer, they fail. They fail because they get water in the hose when the QD is connected, they fail when the transmitter battery poops the bed underwater, they fail when 2 different transmitters get too close to one another (like when a husband and wife use the same rig, who has ever heard of that?), they fail all the time. I'll bet I hand out 4 or 5 SPG and hoses on any given trip with 24 divers on it.

The time for AI hasn't come. You can stomp your feet and tell us all how wonderful AI is, I see twice-a-year tourist divers tout the benefits of AI all the time. I'd love to see a statistic of how many day to day resort instructors diving 4 a day actually use an AI dive computer.

 

[Doc Harry]

No, the SPG is here to stay, thankfully