I saw them released the product manual V 2.0 on the website already.
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They added 3 conservatism settings: Conservative, Normal, and Progressive. But, they don't tell you what any of them are or do. And you can only change that setting from the app on your phone. You can't change it on the computer itself.
If it's just using pure Buhlmann with different GFs, then they should make public what those parameters are. As much as people talk about concerns of liability, it seems like the OEMs would WANT to use a non-proprietary algorithm and to make public what they are using. Not to mention that I would expect industry pros and more knowledgeable non-pros would feel more comfortable recommending the computer to new divers.
That said, I suspect that a lot of these "Buhlmann-based" computers are actually implementing an algorithm that is a very dumbed-down version of Buhlmann, replacing a lot of actual, real-time computations with pre-calculated table lookups, in order to reduce the computing power required of the processor in the dive computer itself. Thus making it less expensive to manufacture. And meaning it's not really implementing Buhlmann - just something that approximates Buhlmann (conservatively) within the limits of recreational sport diving.
But, that's definitely just speculation on my part....
... replacing a lot of actual, real-time computations with pre-calculated table lookups, in order to reduce the computing power required of the processor in the dive computer itself. Thus making it less expensive to manufacture.
Excellent point. nVidia Tegra is another example. I've often wondered why in the heck most DC's don't use ARM or Tegra chips. It's certainly way way more processing power than needed for a dive computer. If you aren't stressing them with a huge load (I see no reason why existing DC functions would) then they have excellent power consumption. Even somewhat older models in the phone world would be far more than needed for a dive computer.You have to wonder, though: at which point using commodity ARM A9 setup becomes cheaper than sourcing a custom "less powerful" microprocessor. OSTC 4 has some kind of "dual-core CPU" and runs Buhlmann and VPM-B side by side already. There's plenty of quad-core versions of A9 or you could go fancy with A17 and their shiny! big-little setup...
You have to wonder, though: at which point using commodity ARM A9 setup becomes cheaper than sourcing a custom "less powerful" microprocessor. OSTC 4 has some kind of "dual-core CPU" and runs Buhlmann and VPM-B side by side already. There's plenty of quad-core versions of A9 or you could go fancy with A17 and their shiny! big-little setup...
Excellent point. nVidia Tegra is another example. I've often wondered why in the heck most DC's don't use ARM or Tegra chips. It's certainly way way more processing power than needed for a dive computer. If you aren't stressing them with a huge load (I see no reason why existing DC functions would) then they have excellent power consumption. Even somewhat older models in the phone world would be far more than needed for a dive computer.
That said, I suspect that a lot of these "Buhlmann-based" computers are actually implementing an algorithm that is a very dumbed-down version of Buhlmann, replacing a lot of actual, real-time computations with pre-calculated table lookups, in order to reduce the computing power required of the processor in the dive computer itself. Thus making it less expensive to manufacture. And meaning it's not really implementing Buhlmann - just something that approximates Buhlmann (conservatively) within the limits of recreational sport diving. But, that's definitely just speculation on my part....
stuartv:I was looking at the OSTC4 and noted that they calculate Buhlmann and VPM simultaneously, letting you switch between algorithms on the fly. I have not used a Shearwater with the VPM upgrade, but it would not surprise me if the SW does not let you do that.