Should Shearwater add Air Integration to its computers?

[AJ]

That's also my idea, no obligation to buy. About reliability concerns, the BT interface as far as I can tell is much more complicated than AI would be. AI is not much more than reading en interpreting a constant simple data stream. Connection to the computer means two way communication. If SW can handle that, they very well can handle AI complexity. I am not worried about the added complexity, just have no need for AI.

 

[ajduplessis]

No for me. Will inflate retail price and unit dimensions.

 

[Lorenzoid]

You cannot? Why not? It does not have to be integrated to the computer dive functions - if a transmitter quits, the Sol or Luna operation is unhampered.

The AI just gathers more information. The dive functions of the computer absolutely should be unaffected by the AI.

I'm not familiar with the Sol, but maybe it was engineered from the very beginning to include AI? In other words, it wasn't an existing, proven design to which they then decided to add AI. All I'm saying is that the effort may be more than some people seem to think. (You can't just "slap on" AI to an existing design is the quote you were replying to.) Producing an AI computer is certainly within Shearwater's capability--it's just a matter of how much effort it will take to produce a computer that they can be confident is just as reliable as many of us believe their current ("powerful, simple, reliable") products to be.

 

[drrich2]

I really hate AI and I...

At least you stated it up front. While I get that A.I. isn't a good, workable system for a lot of tec. diving, and some people don't even find it useful or desirable for the rec. diving they do, it seems odd to 'really hate' it. Nobody's making you use it! What's to hate?

I really hope they never add AI...it's such a waste and a cover up for a skills based problem.

That phase gets thrown around on Scuba Board often, and I've given it some thought. It often means:

A.) It's conceivably possible to do the dive with an adequate margin of safety without it.

B.) The poster doesn't like it.

Well, from what I understand it's possible to do a tec. dive with no computer. Is the Shearwater an equipment solution to a skills problem? That's how this argument comes across to the other side of the debate.

Richard.

 

[stuartv]

No for me. Will inflate retail price and unit dimensions.

Really? There are some really small, wristwatch-sized computers out there with AI built in. The SeaBear H3 does everything the Petrel does and they managed to fit AI into it and still keep it wristwatch-sized.

 

[Dhboner]

I want Shearwater to come up with a snorkel holder for the Petrel

 

[stuartv]

You can still analyze your air after the dive by uploading the dive into the computer.

No, you can't. Not in the way that MikkelBC was talking about. Without AI, all you know is your total gas consumption (assuming you manually noted your start and end pressures), the dive time and the dive average depth. You (or your software) can calculate overall RMV for the dive. But, it can't tell you that, for example, your RMV was 0.8 for the first minute or two after you jumped in, then it dropped to 0.6 while you were descending and swimming to where you really started your dive, then dropped to 0.4 after you got where you were going and stopped swimming and just drifted, then went back up to 0.5 as you deployed your SMB and began your ascent. Without AI, it can only tell you your RMV for the dive was 0.65 for the total dive, but without letting you see the details and correlate them to the conditions you know you were experiencing.

 

[Dhboner]

Most experienced divers don't need gas consumption broken down to that level of detail. If you are planning to end the dive with adequate reserves for both you an your teammate then calculations based on whether your RMV was 0.4 or 0.6 during the course of the dive are pretty much useless. Unless you plan to suck your tanks dry why would you ever need that level of precision.

 

[drrich2]

For a rec. diver looking to improve SAC, it might be useful to see where in the dive he's going through air fast, or whether it's the whole dive.

Tec divers are probably past that stage I'd think.

 

[stuartv]

Most experienced divers don't need gas consumption broken down to that level of detail.

When Shearwater added OC Rec mode, it seems to me that that represented a commitment (as in, investment of resources) to selling to less experienced divers.