Most radio communication fails after just a few inches or centimeters below the surface. The water absorbs all but the lowest-frequency electromagnetic waves, so a normal mobile phone or any other wireless technology simply won’t get any signal.
But not anymore. Anders Brodin has invented the Aqwary Smart Console, a connected dive computer. With it, he posted the world’s first Facebook status update from a dive site at Vättern, Europe’s deepest lake.
The computer uses the built-in hydrophones (underwater microphones) to communicate with any other unit within 100 meters (328 feet).
Aqwary is now launching a new product, Aqwary Link. This surface unit uses the same technology to tap into the underwater network and pass it up to people on land, making it possible to send and receive messages from the divers below. As a demonstration of what Aqwary has planned for the future, they connected the Link to the 4G network and the Smart Console beamed the message through ultrasonic sound. In this fashion the smart console was able to post a message on Facebook.
It’s clear that Aqwary has big plans in terms of upcoming features and products for their underwater network. Having internet access on a dive computer is a huge leap forward for the industry and Anders Brodin is letting everybody know that:
“Right now, I am diving at 16.1 meters (53 feet) and the temperature is 15 degrees (59 F). This is only the beginning.”
Aqwary has also introduced apps to their products. Right now, their store is locked down from third-party developers, mainly as the device is classified as “personal protective equipment.”
But that might change soon. “We actually do have an HTML5 interface that we’re working on, and eventually when it’s stable enough, we’ll publish it for everyone to create their own apps,” says Brodin.
Ultimately, though, Brodin doesn’t want people sitting at the bottom of a lake reading Facebook. “You’re only down for an hour — and most people dive less than an hour at a time,” he says. “Most things can wait except stuff that’s helping you enjoy your diving more when you’re there.”
