Scientists Take the Plunge With World’s First Underwater PC
The Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS) has developed the world's first practical underwater computer, the WetPC.
The result of a three-year development project, the WetPC has numerous applications in marine science and industry.
It has great potential for improving the cost effectiveness of marine research worldwide and for developing a significant export market for Australia.
Inventor, Mr Bruce Macdonald, a scientist at AIMS in North Queensland, says underwater computing is now a reality.
Divers can enter or access data while swimming. A • tiny monitor that clips on to the diver's goggle displays the data through one side of the mask. Mounted on the diver's chest is a five-key keypad which allows them to control the computer with one hand.
A combination of keys or "chords" is used for each letter to replicate the 101 days on a normal computer keyboard. A miniaturised standard PC, enclosed in waterproof casing and mounted on the airtank, completes the hardware.
"The WetPC meets the growing need for faster, more accurate underwater data collection," Mr Macdonald said. "Divers can work more efficiently and productively." The WetPC is currently in the prototype stage. AIMS is actively looking for commercialisation opportunities.
Marine researchers at AIMS working on the Great Barrier Reef in Queensland, are currently testing the WetPC to record their findings underwater. Previously, they used waterproof pencils and paper and later recorded the data on computers. An ordinary PC enclosed in a waterproof casing has been tried out in Japan but was impractical for ;underwater work.
The WetPC has many other potential uses beyond diving, including in mines, deserts and rainforests where using a computer is difficult. It will be a full featured wearable underwater computer. Compact and rugged, its head-up display should be able to provide a diver with technical or scientific information such as text, maps, diagrams, digital photos or even graphic animations of detailed engineering procedures.
