I think, in 15 years, the norm, even for new divers, will be CCR.
Along with those, I suspect computers will be integrated into the CCR unit and we'll all have very tiny heads-up displays that are mounted inside our masks. Or maybe on the outside, front of the mask. We'll have very little need to interact with the computer during a dive. I.e. rarely need to push any buttons during a dive. So, maybe no buttons at all - especially for recreational diving. But, probably a small control module with buttons that is mounted somewhere and attached to the brain in the CCR. Maybe worn on the wrist. Maybe mounted on a harness strap somewhere. Maybe something on the side of the HU display that is mounted to the front of your mask (or connected to a small module clipped to your mask strap), with a button or two on it.
I think as dive computers advance - and things like solid state O2 sensors and CO2 scrubber technology also advance - the need for computers that we have to push buttons on during a dive will fade. If you can see all the relevant info, and you don't have to tell the computer when you are switching gases, then why would you need buttons to press during a dive? Especially if it has incorporated biometrics, including doppler bubble detection, so you don't have to tell it (or change) parameters like a conservatism factor? If it can actually detect imminent onset of DCS and stop you before it happens, you wouldn't need to set Gradient Factors or change them during a dive, right?
Except.... if CCRs incorporate automatic buoyancy management, then there might be what boil down to Up and Down buttons somewhere, so the diver can ascend and descend. Otherwise, the CCR would use wing, loop, and counterlung automated volume management to keep the diver at exactly the depth they choose. I suppose there would also have to be overrides available in case the computer wanted to force you to ascend (only as an emergency measure to avoid running out of gas at depth) and that could cause the diver to be trapped inside an overhead (e.g. you're inside a wreck when it starts inflating your BCD to make you go up). But, that still leaves the computer inside the CCR unit with just a HUD for the diver to look at when they like.
Along with those, I suspect computers will be integrated into the CCR unit and we'll all have very tiny heads-up displays that are mounted inside our masks. Or maybe on the outside, front of the mask. We'll have very little need to interact with the computer during a dive. I.e. rarely need to push any buttons during a dive. So, maybe no buttons at all - especially for recreational diving. But, probably a small control module with buttons that is mounted somewhere and attached to the brain in the CCR. Maybe worn on the wrist. Maybe mounted on a harness strap somewhere. Maybe something on the side of the HU display that is mounted to the front of your mask (or connected to a small module clipped to your mask strap), with a button or two on it.
I think as dive computers advance - and things like solid state O2 sensors and CO2 scrubber technology also advance - the need for computers that we have to push buttons on during a dive will fade. If you can see all the relevant info, and you don't have to tell the computer when you are switching gases, then why would you need buttons to press during a dive? Especially if it has incorporated biometrics, including doppler bubble detection, so you don't have to tell it (or change) parameters like a conservatism factor? If it can actually detect imminent onset of DCS and stop you before it happens, you wouldn't need to set Gradient Factors or change them during a dive, right?
Except.... if CCRs incorporate automatic buoyancy management, then there might be what boil down to Up and Down buttons somewhere, so the diver can ascend and descend. Otherwise, the CCR would use wing, loop, and counterlung automated volume management to keep the diver at exactly the depth they choose. I suppose there would also have to be overrides available in case the computer wanted to force you to ascend (only as an emergency measure to avoid running out of gas at depth) and that could cause the diver to be trapped inside an overhead (e.g. you're inside a wreck when it starts inflating your BCD to make you go up). But, that still leaves the computer inside the CCR unit with just a HUD for the diver to look at when they like.
