Triton Scuba Mask - the future of diving?

At the end of last week, information about a revolutionary new invention which was to change the face of diving started to reach us from various quarters. The device in question is, of course, the Triton Scuba Mask. We decided to check the topic and answer the questions what is hidden behind this futuristic looking gadget and where did it come from?

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The device is intended to allow people to breathe without the need for diving cylinders and standard breathing apparatus. The author of the whole concept is South Korean designer Jeabyun Yeon. As you can see in the pictures, Triton consists of a mouthpiece, an outlet nozzle and two arms acting as gills.

According to the information available, the water flowing through the holes in both arms will be filtered to separate the oxygen molecules from the liquid. The separated oxygen will then be compressed and stored in a miniature tank. The entire system is powered by a new generation miniature battery that can be recharged quickly.

The vision of a diver, unfettered by the equipment used today, has fired the heads and imagination of many. I admit, such a perspective is tempting. Unfortunately for all of us, it is not realistic.

While most parties were carried away by the wave of optimism and the possibilities that the use of artificial gills could offer, some decided to keep more distance and were more sceptical about the whole situation.

Dr. Alistair Dove of the Georgia Aquarium in Atlanta, dissects the Triton with a series of calculations. According to him, the device would have to filter about 90l of water in 1min to meet the user’s needs! This is an amount that, without a 1/4 hp pump, cannot be passed through the futuristic gills.

Another problem that the designer (and many authors writing about the device) did not take into account is that breathing pure oxygen even at shallow depths is deadly for humans. The gas recovered from the water would consist of 100% oxygen molecules and would simply be toxic to our bodies.

All the fuss would probably not have happened if the people writing about Mr Yeon’s idea had shown more integrity or basic diving knowledge. On the Internet, one can find information about, among others, “revolution in diving” or “transformation of a man into a fish” and the student and designer from South Korea is even referred to as a “scientist”.

The author of the project-concept wrote on his website that in the future Triton would allow to enjoy the beauty of the underwater world without the need to wear a lot of heavy equipment. This would make diving simpler and much more accessible for people. At the same time, the author hopes that thanks to such a device, our attitude towards the world hidden in the depths would change completely.

Despite their noble intentions, Korean artificial gills do not and will not bring anything new to diving. In themselves, they are not a new idea, either, as already in 1965 they appear on the equipment of agent 007 in the film – Thunderball (Operation Thunderbolt) and also in the new Star Wars trilogy (here under the name AP99).

Source: deepseanews.com, themindunleashed.org, yankodesign.com, news.softpedia.com, dailymail.co.uk, inhabitat.com, cargocollective.com/jeabyundesign/triton