The Next Big Thing...

[victor]

Underwater Digital Camera, Wireless upload, wet lens swap, True TTL, powered auto direct strobes on your focus point with manual overide, auto macro recognition, through body recharging during wireless upload.

Annual Service, no need to open the casing outside the service center.

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

Unfortunately GPS won't work in an overhead environment - it needs line-of-sight to the satellites in orbit. I'd like to see something along the lines of an advanced dive computer that can tell you real-time nitrogen absorption by ACTUALLY measuring - not just approximating.... Just a pipe dream.
S.

Underwater GPS, particularly in overhead environments, would need some major advance to be truly easy and available --- like the establishment of an underwater reference grid analgous to the satellite system. Is this going to happen for rec diving? No, but the satellites aren't there for us to find the nearest Italian restaurant using Magellan or onstar either. Divers would have to tap into something developed for military/submarine use.

I would like to see an 80 cubic foot tank that weighs 10 pounds on land and, when full, is atill negatively buoyant. Surely some composite material exists that can hold 3000 psi of gas without weighing what current tanks weigh?

 

[Tassie_Rohan]

Underwater GPS, particularly in overhead environments, would need some major advance to be truly easy and available --- like the establishment of an underwater reference grid analgous to the satellite system. Is this going to happen for rec diving? No, but the satellites aren't there for us to find the nearest Italian restaurant using Magellan or onstar either. Divers would have to tap into something developed for military/submarine use.?

You could triangulate off local surface sonar buoys that have their position fixed by GPS. Personally I like to loose myself in the aquatic world and am not worried by surfacing a few hundred meters away from the boat if I stuff up my nav – just means a bit of a swim or a longer wait on the surface for pick up.

I heard (on scubaboard, not the real world) Mares actually looked into developing a rebreather but scrapped the program - anyone have the gossip on this? It’s out of line with their recreational image but I think CCR will be the next big step forward once the majors work out how to make it safe for your average diver.

Then again – is it a good thing to give a recreational diver all that extra bottom time with a CCR, especially as its easy to get bent on just an 80?

Cheers,
Rohan.

 

[Penguinboy]

Underwater Digital Camera, Wireless upload, wet lens swap, True TTL, powered auto direct strobes on your focus point with manual overide, auto macro recognition, through body recharging during wireless upload.

Annual Service, no need to open the casing outside the service center.

If you could combine the camera into the mask too that would be fantastic! Mount the strobes on your ears or some such and just push a little button to take a photo of whatever you are looking at! It would be similar to having a camera mounted on the side of your helmet as some already do. This would free up your hands for anything else too.

 

[MikeFerrara]

I heard (on scubaboard, not the real world) Mares actually looked into developing a rebreather but scrapped the program - anyone have the gossip on this? It’s out of line with their recreational image but I think CCR will be the next big step forward once the majors work out how to make it safe for your average diver.

Then again – is it a good thing to give a recreational diver all that extra bottom time with a CCR, especially as its easy to get bent on just an 80?

Cheers,
Rohan.

I don't see much of an advantage in a rebreather for the single tank rec diver who has fills available close to their diving. they don't need more bottom time and the gas is cheap.

If you're using helium it gets to be a huge advantage because helium is so expensive. It's even more attractive if you are diving in a remote location. Even then, you need to be diving a lot of helium to pay for the rebreather and the training.

 

[miketsp]

A foolproof rebreather with fuel cell technology to provide enough power to, on the one hand wrench oxygen from exhaled CO2 and combine the resulting carbon with H2O to synthesise carbohydrates (CH2O)n, and on the other to allow oxygen extraction from H2O thus providing an endless supply of oxygen and a food supply if you get peckish on your long endless dive.
The rebreather should include redundant parts & logic. The chance of dying from a device failure should be comparable to getting hit by a meteorite.
No training should be required and it should incorporate real time N2 loading monitoring of the user.

 

[miketsp]

If you could combine the camera into the mask too that would be fantastic! Mount the strobes on your ears or some such and just push a little button to take a photo of whatever you are looking at! It would be similar to having a camera mounted on the side of your helmet as some already do. This would free up your hands for anything else too.

I quite often stick my camera into places where I wouldn't stick my head, or it just wouldn't fit...

 

[Bill51]

Mask with built in high definition picture quality sonar so you can see in zero viz.

Full authority digital regulator control--electronic regulators that are actually breathing assist machines---not regulators as such we now know.

Inertial "compass" that uses a GPS fix while on the surface--predive--to update it's starting position--and has 3D capability with memory to download the dive in 3D space.

The re-emergence of the double hose regulator as king of the open circuit hill because it steps you right into a rebreather (same reason the Navy still trains with them)

N

So you want a FADEC that controls your mixture and a synthetic vision glass cockpit HUD driven by an inertial navigation system and forward-looking rotary scan sonar with dive data recorder storage. That’s a far improvement over my first dive in TR without a BC on a single stage 2 hose.

 

[shakeybrainsurgeon]

The chief advantage for rebreathers in rec diving is weight. Correct me if I am wrong, but aren't rebreathers much lighter than the equivalent tank setup? As I said above, there should be some progress made in lessening the weight of the equipment. The typical empty AL 80 weighs 35 pounds, the AL 100 about 43 pounds, yet they account for little underwater weight and, in fact, require an additional 4 to 6 pounds on the belt to counter the negative buoyancy of empty aluminum. The weight of the air itself is about five pounds. If some form of neutrally buoyant alloy or composite tank weighing, say, 10 pounds empty, were possible, we could shed 20 pounds of tank weight and six pounds of belt weight. For aging divers with bad backs or those who struggle with a dense tank rolling on their backs underwater, this would be a godsend.

 

[sunkarm]

Another revolutionized tech on divng was the hydroptix. i am currently using that and i don't wanna go back to conventional flat mask.

A digital camera that doesn't need to have housing. a 100% salt and u/w pressure proofs. Come to think of it, if there is an u/w computer that uses batteries, memories that can later be uploaded to real computer ,buttons and LCD for scubadiving, why can't they make it on digital camera? I beleive both dive comp and digital camera have the same features. Thanks.