The smart jacket - the start of a revolution?

April 2012 will bring us a very interesting product – intelligent BCD. Created in Lausanne, Switzerland, the device, thanks to the “Suba” system, is to work on a similar principle as an autopilot in an aircraft. This interesting product has been developed by an EPFL student and will be released under the name Pandora Underwater Equipment.

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When the diver begins to lose control of the situation underwater, the “Suba” comes into action. The stabiliser in the waistcoat is connected to a smart band, which is previously placed on the wrist. Thanks to this, during problems with diving/submersion the whole system works automatically adjusting our buoyancy. The entire system was designed and manufactured by David Bonzon, a microtechnologist at EPFL.

Every year, a large number of diving accidents are caused by problems with buoyancy and too rapid surfacing, and it was the desire to prevent such events that motivated the development of the intelligent jacket.

In the first instance, the new equipment will be sent to diving schools so that instructors can learn how it works.

“If someone has problems underwater, panics and is unable to add air or drop it to achieve correct buoyancy, then the system will automatically compensate for the shortfall. It is also possible to pre-program our BCD, in terms of the duration of the dive and its depth “, explains the creator of the device.

Are we facing a real revolution in diving? Certainly not right away. The diving community is distrustful of all types of devices that turn off thinking and rely fully on the automatic operation of equipment. However, we cannot forget that more and more technologically advanced equipment is the natural course of things and this trend has accompanied us since the beginning of mankind.

Source: underwatertimes.com
Photo: family mwr/flickr