Diving: the future

[shoredivr]

I'm just waiting for that little mouthpiece re-breather the Jedi used in the Star Wars prequels.

C'mon, Blackwood, James Bond did a mini rebreather first in Thunderball in 1966:

http://www.therebreathersite.nl/01_Informative/Images/zuurstofrebreathers/Bondrebreather.jpg

http://www.universalexports.net/Movies/Graphics/4-images/debreather.jpg
"Description: In the event of a rebreather not being available, this gadget was to be used for short times only: say five minutes. Bond used it twice: once to escape from the shark tank, then again to finish the final underwater battle."

one of my favourite UW movies.

 

[MXGratefulDiver]

How about a "buddy finder" unit built into the dive computer. Your buddy wears (or has built into their computer) a transmitter that provides a directional signal if you are separated ... or perhaps emits an alarm if you get separated by more than a preset distance.

With all the buddy separations that happen to occasional divers or insta-buddies, seems something like that could be useful ... yeah, I know ... a gear solution to a skills problem, but what the heck ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

 

[mike_s]

The thing is, these "high tech dive gadgets" I doubt are going to be made because the market for them is low in return sales compared to other high tech items such as MP3 players.

 

[Blackwood]

C'mon, Blackwood, James Bond did a mini rebreather first in Thunderball in 1966:

1966 isn't that old.

Star Wars did is a LONG time ago (in a galaxy far, far away, but still).

 

[Zieg]

A "sonar mask" that will allow divers to see despite zero viz via a virtual display or to see beyond visual range in limited viz. N

DIDSON High Definition Sonar Diver Held Unit

They are out there. Kinda big, but sonars are getting amazingly smaller every year. Check out the image gallery.

High Resolution Multibeam Sonar - BlueView Technologies

Check some of the images from this sonar.

 

[MauiScubaSteve]

DIN valves are about the only thing, and then just because I suspect that the E.U. will legislated them and that'll cause the resorts to all change over time which will drag the rest of the world behind.

Not really that big a deal; my Asahi 120's came with the "combo" valve, if I want to use a DIN reg I just remove the insert.

 

[Crush]

Personally, I am waiting for the dial-a-depth to be marketed.

Imagine how accessible scuba could be to everyone if people didn't have to bother themselves with unnecessary skills such as buoyancy control? The technology already exists - all you need is a computer with built-in pressure gauge and some actuators. You just dial in what depth you want to descend to, and dial-a-depth will use your BC's dump and inflate valves to allow you to descend to and hold the desired depth - your own personal elevator (or personal submersible?). If you want to ascend, dial-a-depth will fill your BC, then monitor your ascent rate and dump air as required, eventually bringing you to your 20 ft safety stop and holding you there for three minutes, thereafter lifting you to the surface. The tropical waters will be positively overrun!

Afterthought - it may well be called the Personal Ascent Descent Instrument rather than dial-a-depth...

 

[muddiver]

How about a "buddy finder" unit built into the dive computer. Your buddy wears (or has built into their computer) a transmitter that provides a directional signal if you are separated ... or perhaps emits an alarm if you get separated by more than a preset distance.

With all the buddy separations that happen to occasional divers or insta-buddies, seems something like that could be useful ... yeah, I know ... a gear solution to a skills problem, but what the heck ...

... Bob (Grateful Diver)

It will probably work really well with the RFID chips we are all going to be implanted with.

 

[MaxBottomtime]

Several of my dive buddies still use horse collars. They will probably still be using them in twenty years.

 

[RJP]

If you want to ascend, dial-a-depth will fill your BC...

Afterthought - it may well be called the Personal Ascent Descent Instrument rather than dial-a-depth...

Actually a better name might be "DCS-Pro" or "The Embolizomatic"

:d