Pop-Sci Core77 Design Challenge S p e e d - 1/20/03

Description of Design

BE CLOSER TO DOLPHINS Dolphins are the symbols of speed under the water, let alone being extremely swift swimmers. They are one of the most playful creatures in the animal world and, no doubt, they know how to have fun in and above the water. We admire them not only because of the way they move beneath the surface but also for all the enjoyable and acrobatic action they do out of the water. Swimming like dolphins and being able to share their joyful games has been a dream for us since our relation has started. Well, maybe until just now… Cetus is a skin-diving assistant that aims at giving the user the experience of actually being a dolphin. (Skin Diving: the sport of swimming under water with a facemask and flippers and especially without a portable breathing device). By using Water Jet Propulsion and Gesture Control Technologies, it helps divers to move fast and intuitively. It offers the possibility of diving, swimming and eventually shooting out of the water. Cetus means "large sea-creature" in Latin, such as dolphin. > ANATOMY OF CETUS Cetus consists of three parts. These are the trousers, the jacket and the helmet. The helmet is a combination of plastic and Kevlar, whereas the jacket and trousers are moulded neoprene, which is a semi-soft material. Even though they remain in their original form, they can be stretched. Therefore divers can comfortably move their bodies. It has three electrical water jet propulsion engines, which makes Cetus environmental friendly. Two of these engines are placed in front of the body, while the main engine is on the backside. Although they are firmly attached to the body, turning their nozzles can change the direction of the force. The trousers contain the batteries for the engines. The helmet completes the hydrodynamic shape of the suit and limits the freedom of the diver's neck. Since high speeds underwater would create big drag forces, it is important to secure the neck against any sort of injury. Besides protection, the helmet has several other functions. It allows divers to equalize the pressure in their middle ear during descending. It also prevents the water running into the helmet and lets divers breathe when they are on the surface. > USAGE With the help of gesture control technologies, the usage of Cetus is intuitive. Divers move their body as if they were skin diving or mimicking a dolphin. Meanwhile, built-in joint angle sensors register the diver's gestures and their pattern. Finally a small computer interprets this information and sends commands to the engines. So the speed and direction are adjusted by changing the gesture and its speed. Since there is not any control function on hands and feet, they can be used as fins. Only the front engines are in use on the surface. Once Cetus is fully submerged into the water all the engines become usable. > SAFETY Besides the fun part, some safety issues were considered. That is why an air-bag system was added to the product. This system is supposed to be used in case of emergency. If something goes wrong, divers can activate the air bag by pressing a button and reach the surface. There is also a health-monitoring device integrated with the suit that activates the air-bag system in case of loosing consciousness.