scubafanatic
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Tanks: at best expect gradual improvement/evolution to perhaps somewhat higher metal tensile strengths, still AL or steel, no exotic titanium or carbon fiber materials for the already mentioned buoyancy/fragility/cost issues.
Rebreathers: in theory the technology could be considerably improved in 20 more years, but I don't think they'll break out of the technical arena in just another 20 years....it's kinda like trying to build a 'hydrogen powered' transportation industry....automakers won't produce hydrogen powered cars without filling stations being available and the fuel industry won't build filling stations without sufficient hydrogen powered cars out in circulation buying their fuel. It will take an enormous effort to build up the supporting infrastructure, to get remote liveaboards/locations to prepare/invest in that supporting infrastructure...a chicken-and-egg thing.
(also, expect the up-and-coming future world super powers (China/India) to shape the industry in unanticipated ways....the Chinese will likely develop miniature diver deployable anti-shark torpedo tubes for example.)
Lite-Weight-Gear..absolutely, definitely the wave of the future.....airline weight restrictions will grow ever more onerous, especially with carbon taxes/limits/caps heading our way, penalizing the burning of fossil fuels.
Helitrox: no penetration into the recreational market, especially not in only 20 years....HE is ever more expensive, supplies are on the decline, also remember, HE is a byproduct of a few natural gas fields in the USA, and if carbon 'caps' are deployed, fossil fuels will be on the not-politically-correct list of acceptable power options.
Sidemounted tanks: a specialized fad and won't penetrate the recreational market....at least in the USA, the average diver is getting ever older (mid 40's), ever more out of shape, dual tanks for this crowd ain't happening.
BP/wing: won't predominate in 20 years, but will become a larger presence...I think Halcyon's new adjustable harness system is a glimpse into that future. I do think those here who have already suggested BC's will be equipped with some sort of depth-control autopilot are onto something....cars have cruise control/ rear backup cameras/anti-collision radar systems...I can easily see an electronic BC where you program/type in the desired depth and the autopilot takes it from there....given the ever lower diver standards, this makes sense to me....it might even be linked to one's mask-integrated HUD dive computer where the computer 'controls' the BC, handling one's safety stops, etc., even perhaps a 'sonar altimeter' where you might program the BC with instructions like "keep me 6' above the bottom/reef".
Long-Hoses (and crotch straps) I 'hang' mostly with the generally recreational crowd and there is still healthy resistance to both these 'concepts' among this group. I think the crotch strap will gain wider acceptance as it's a fairly minor alteration...but I'm not seeing the long-hose wierdness factor wearing off in 20 years.
HUD dive masks....a definite candidate for widespread acceptance once the cost factor drops dramatically.
Wireless SPG......no need, the low cost HUD mask will address this need.
DIN valves....at least in the western hemisphere, it will continue to ever so gradually increase in acceptance in the recreational 'space'. However, I'm still amazed at the tenacity of both the Yoke valve and the AL 80 over all these years, that's why I'm making a conservative prediction here.
Underwater Navigation.....the person/company who figures out an elegant solution to this one will be a rich man! ...not convinced GPS will be the answer though....maybe some sort of miniature inertial navigation device like that used in navy subs...maybe download originating coordinates from a docking station on a boat/shop to give the unit a baseline to start and then navigate from the original 'fix' ?
Underwater talking devices....again, another popular item as soon as someone perfects a more elegant solution...20 years of technology progress might be enough to finally achieve this.
...honestly though, I'm taking the darker view, that in another 20 years the oceans will have suffered even more of a catastrophic decline than has already been witnessed.....and that 'good' diving will consist of something between the 'artificial aquarium' dives, where at least you're underwater blowing real bubbles.....or wearing a fancy HUD dive mask that uses a small supercompter to project happy dive scenes onto the mask glass so you can count on seeing whatever you want, whenever you want...all the way to the mental implantation (of say a nice dive trip) just like the movie 'Total Recall'.
...overall, it is my prediction that our technology will reach an elegant climax at about the same time the ocean has finally died...so we'll be "all dressed up with no place to go" !
Rebreathers: in theory the technology could be considerably improved in 20 more years, but I don't think they'll break out of the technical arena in just another 20 years....it's kinda like trying to build a 'hydrogen powered' transportation industry....automakers won't produce hydrogen powered cars without filling stations being available and the fuel industry won't build filling stations without sufficient hydrogen powered cars out in circulation buying their fuel. It will take an enormous effort to build up the supporting infrastructure, to get remote liveaboards/locations to prepare/invest in that supporting infrastructure...a chicken-and-egg thing.
(also, expect the up-and-coming future world super powers (China/India) to shape the industry in unanticipated ways....the Chinese will likely develop miniature diver deployable anti-shark torpedo tubes for example.)
Lite-Weight-Gear..absolutely, definitely the wave of the future.....airline weight restrictions will grow ever more onerous, especially with carbon taxes/limits/caps heading our way, penalizing the burning of fossil fuels.
Helitrox: no penetration into the recreational market, especially not in only 20 years....HE is ever more expensive, supplies are on the decline, also remember, HE is a byproduct of a few natural gas fields in the USA, and if carbon 'caps' are deployed, fossil fuels will be on the not-politically-correct list of acceptable power options.
Sidemounted tanks: a specialized fad and won't penetrate the recreational market....at least in the USA, the average diver is getting ever older (mid 40's), ever more out of shape, dual tanks for this crowd ain't happening.
BP/wing: won't predominate in 20 years, but will become a larger presence...I think Halcyon's new adjustable harness system is a glimpse into that future. I do think those here who have already suggested BC's will be equipped with some sort of depth-control autopilot are onto something....cars have cruise control/ rear backup cameras/anti-collision radar systems...I can easily see an electronic BC where you program/type in the desired depth and the autopilot takes it from there....given the ever lower diver standards, this makes sense to me....it might even be linked to one's mask-integrated HUD dive computer where the computer 'controls' the BC, handling one's safety stops, etc., even perhaps a 'sonar altimeter' where you might program the BC with instructions like "keep me 6' above the bottom/reef".
Long-Hoses (and crotch straps) I 'hang' mostly with the generally recreational crowd and there is still healthy resistance to both these 'concepts' among this group. I think the crotch strap will gain wider acceptance as it's a fairly minor alteration...but I'm not seeing the long-hose wierdness factor wearing off in 20 years.
HUD dive masks....a definite candidate for widespread acceptance once the cost factor drops dramatically.
Wireless SPG......no need, the low cost HUD mask will address this need.
DIN valves....at least in the western hemisphere, it will continue to ever so gradually increase in acceptance in the recreational 'space'. However, I'm still amazed at the tenacity of both the Yoke valve and the AL 80 over all these years, that's why I'm making a conservative prediction here.
Underwater Navigation.....the person/company who figures out an elegant solution to this one will be a rich man! ...not convinced GPS will be the answer though....maybe some sort of miniature inertial navigation device like that used in navy subs...maybe download originating coordinates from a docking station on a boat/shop to give the unit a baseline to start and then navigate from the original 'fix' ?
Underwater talking devices....again, another popular item as soon as someone perfects a more elegant solution...20 years of technology progress might be enough to finally achieve this.
...honestly though, I'm taking the darker view, that in another 20 years the oceans will have suffered even more of a catastrophic decline than has already been witnessed.....and that 'good' diving will consist of something between the 'artificial aquarium' dives, where at least you're underwater blowing real bubbles.....or wearing a fancy HUD dive mask that uses a small supercompter to project happy dive scenes onto the mask glass so you can count on seeing whatever you want, whenever you want...all the way to the mental implantation (of say a nice dive trip) just like the movie 'Total Recall'.
...overall, it is my prediction that our technology will reach an elegant climax at about the same time the ocean has finally died...so we'll be "all dressed up with no place to go" !
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(we are getting ready for that)
