Enhancing Diver Capabilities with Dielectric Elastomer Sensors

Scuba diving allows for captivating exploration of the underwater realm, but it carries inherent risks such as decompression sickness, barotrauma, nitrogen narcosis and drowning. To ensure safety, divers must undergo thorough training, maintain their equipment properly, and practice the dive buddy protocol. This protocol is a set of guidelines and practices where scuba divers maintain constant communication through hand gestures, for monitoring each other's well-being, so as to provide immediate assistance in case of emergencies. However, underwater communication requires a clear line of sight, which is not always possible because of low visibility or lack of buddy attention. This can lead to buddy separation and increased risk. We can now communicate diver to diver in murky water through sensor-based motion capture of the hand. We have implemented dielectric elastomer sensors and an inertial measurement unit onto a dive glove for gesture capture. Our on-board electronics interprets gestures as discrete commands that can be relayed acoustically to a buddy or assistive robot and without requiring a line of sight. Furthermore, we are developing a smart wetsuit with integrated sensors for monitoring diver kinematics and physiology. We will be able to warn a buddy or the boat when problems arise. Our preliminary results suggest that we can also improve diver swimming technique for more efficient underwater locomotion. We are leading the way to better and safer diving through wearable technology!