Topside Buoy Sonar Relay for Diver Location Tracking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing diver monitoring systems lack efficient communication and location tracking capabilities underwater, limiting the ability to relay critical dive data and provide real-time instructions to divers.
Innovation Solution
A topside buoy system that utilizes sonar signals and transducers to receive dive data from a wearable device, transmit it to a remote monitoring station, and relay instructions back to the diver, integrating with a transceiver for communication and location determination using triangulation and depth sensing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a cable or tether is used for communication between diver wearable device and surface, then communication reliability is improved, but device complexity and diver mobility are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a topside buoy as an intermediary device that receives sonar signals from the diver's wearable device and relays them to the surface monitoring station. This mediator approach eliminates the need for direct cable connections while maintaining reliable communication, as the buoy acts as a relay point between underwater and surface systems.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical cable/tether connection system with an acoustic sonar-based communication system. Instead of physical mechanical connections, the system uses sound wave transmission through water to carry data between the diver and the surface, thereby eliminating the mechanical complexity of cables while maintaining communication reliability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If sonar signals are used for underwater communication, then communication capability is improved, but signal transmission distance and clarity are worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the communication system into distinct functional components: the wearable device generates sonar signals, the topside buoy receives and processes them, and the surface station interprets the data. This segmentation allows each component to optimize its function, with the buoy acting as an intermediate processing node that can clarify and retransmit signals, thereby maintaining information integrity over distance.
Solution Approach 2:
The system incorporates feedback mechanisms where the topside buoy can receive sonar signals, process them, and send acknowledgment or clarification signals back to the surface station. This feedback loop ensures that information is accurately transmitted and understood, compensating for potential signal degradation in the underwater environment.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables real-time monitoring and communication of dive data, providing alerts and navigation instructions to divers, enhancing safety and efficiency underwater.
Implementation Method 1
one or more transducers for receiving a first sonar signal from a wearable device of the diver
Implementation Method 2
the one or more transducers transmit a second sonar signal indicative of the instructions to the wearable device
Data Source
AI summary
A topside buoy system is disclosed for relaying a status of a diver between a monitoring station and a diver's wearable device and scuba tank pod. The communication may be carried by sonar signals underwater and may be transmitted by short-range communication methods through air. An application on the command station may display diver status information and may receive and transmit messages between the command station and the wearable device of the diver via the topside buoy. The diver location data may be determined relative to the topside buoy by determining a time delay of the sonar signal between the wearable device and the topside buoy, by a plurality of transducers configured to detect an angle from which the sonar signal originated, and a depth of the diver included in the sonar signal.