Omer Arad is a student and scuba diver. On an otherwise-routine dive at 80 feet, he experienced something that thankfully few divers ever will: his regulator suddenly stopped working. He tried signaling his buddy, who was too far away to notice. This is how many scuba-diving horror stories begin, and often they conclude with the diver surfacing rapidly, risking decompression illness in the process.
As divers, our buddies are our ultimate backup plan. They can provide us with air if necessary, help us slow down on an emergency ascent, and help fix any problems that can be fixed. But as we all know, buddy pairs don't always stay within reach of each other or pay as much attention as one could wish for, as in Arad's case. And a serious problem paired with an absent buddy is a recipe for panic, which is one of the most dangerous issues we can face underwater.
Fortunately, Arad survived his out-of-gas situation, and what could have been a tragedy turned into an inspiration. His ordeal was the basis for his work on a solution should he, or any other diver, ever again face such a situation: the BLU, essentially a diver "panic bracelet." Presented at Israel's technical university Technion during its 3-Day Startup event, the BLU diving safety bracelet took first place among concepts presented to a jury by participants from all over the world.
A small, streamlined bracelet, the BLU comes in pairs of two, one for each diver in a buddy team. If one diver gets into trouble and needs to signal his or her buddy, they simply push the large button on top of the bracelet. The other bracelet will then alert its wearer with a flashing light and vibration. In this way, the buddy is alerted more effectively than trying to make noise or using a tank banger.
As the BLU diving safety bracelet is still only a concept, not much is available in terms of how its technology will work, including which transmitting type it utilizes, and, related to that, its range. Many gadgets similar to the BLU, such as FitBit or Jawbone fitness trackers, use Bluetooth, but that has so far been hampered by limitations in range underwater. In air, Bluetooth is typically limited to about 30 feet, but in much-denser water, that range is far reduced.
And while the BLU is a potentially very useful way to get your buddy's attention, it won't negate good buddy practices. It's all well and good that I can be alerted to my buddy's trouble, but if I'm 50 feet away, I probably won't be able to make it to him or her in time to help, if I can even find them. And of course, a wireless-alert system won't do much good if a buddy pair swims outside of its transmission range. But, as an added layer of safety on top of good, safe diving and buddy practices, the BLU diving safety bracelet has promise.
The BLU was developed by Omer Arad, a student at Technion, along with fellow students Aviv Tahar and Oz Meir; Manik Arora and Bernadette Che from Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, and Orit Dolev, a graduate of Shenkar College of Engineering and Design in Ramat Gan.
The post BLU Diving Safety Bracelet Wins Startup Award appeared first on Scuba Diver Life.
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