At Garmin we modified the diving sport with the discharge of our first Descent™ Mk1 — the primary watch-sized dive laptop to supply floor GPS navigation with full-color, on-screen mapping and placement reference, in addition to a confirmed algorithm to make sure you keep inside your dive limits underneath the floor. The Descent™ T1 transmitter and Descent™ Mk2i dive laptop (every offered individually) elevated the dive expertise much more with the flexibility to watch as much as 5 tanks for strain, remaining air time and air consumption charge for a number of sorts of diving. However how does that truly work? One phrase: SubWave™.
Developed by Garmin, SubWave expertise is sonar-based communication that creates revolutionary air integration and data-sharing capabilities underwater — at a spread as much as 10 meters away out of your dive laptop. It’s so cool that it virtually looks as if magic, however our engineers guarantee us it’s not. To additional show this, DeJuan Gailes, Paul Earl and Adam Demicco — among the minds behind SubWave expertise — agreed to sit down down and clarify simply precisely what it’s, and what it means for you in your dive.
How does SubWave work?
DeJuan: SubWave is principally a wi-fi expertise that enables communication underwater. It makes use of sonar soundwaves underneath water to transmit knowledge. What SubWave brings to the desk particularly is — at first — air integration. This isn’t new to the market; divers can at the moment see their tank pressures underwater whereas utilizing numerous units. However for many of these units, the vary may be very quick. And you’ll’t monitor one other diver’s tank strain, which is what we name “buddy strain.”
SubWave permits you to see your numerous tank pressures and depths whilst you’re diving and permits different units which have built-in the SubWave expertise to watch your tank pressures as nicely, in order that’s an added security function and peace of thoughts for those who’re diving with a cherished one.
What’s the good thing about buddy strain?
Adam: With opponents you possibly can simply verify your personal tank strain, however with ours, you possibly can verify the tank strain of all of the folks you’re diving with. When my spouse was studying to dive (earlier than SubWave got here out), there was numerous me asking her what her tank strain was, and that required her to really see me making the hand alerts. Whereas with our (SubWave) expertise, I can look down at my watch and get that peace of thoughts.
Or if we’re on the finish of the dive and know everyone’s operating low on air, I can see the place everyone is. And we’ll get alerts. If Paul hits an alert degree, it’ll present up on my MK2i watch — “Paul 500psi air strain critically low” — once I might be off taking a look at one thing fully totally different.
How is SubWave preferable to conventional radio frequencies?
Paul: Our key differentiator from our opponents is that we use an acoustic sign underwater, which travels larger distances than radio frequency alerts, which is what our opponents usually use. SubWave travels by way of water significantly better. With radio frequency, our opponents spec their merchandise anyplace from 1.2 to 1.8 meters. So in the event that they do supply buddy strain, it’s so quick vary that, except you’re swimming shoulder to shoulder, you’re not going to be in place to obtain that info.
What sort of distance do SubWave alerts get?
DeJuan: As much as 10 meters.
Paul: However once we exit and dive ourselves, we repeatedly get larger than 10 meters.
What Garmin merchandise use SubWave expertise?
Paul: SubWave makes use of the identical expertise that our marine merchandise use for fishfinders, depth sounders and extra. We’ve leveraged Garmin’s marine expertise and prolonged it to the diving market.
Eager about studying extra concerning the science behind Garmin diving merchandise? Click on right here.
