Diver locator Wavy in the world finals of Microsoft Imagine Cup 2018

Video presentation of the system:

https://wideo.pap.pl/videos/28039/

It is estimated that recreational diving is practiced by several million people worldwide. "Our product is designed primarily to improve the safety of divers" - says Jakub Wujek, co-author of the solution and student at the Faculty of Technical Physics, Information Technology and Applied Mathematics of Lodz University of Technology.

The Wavy team took first place in the Big Data category in the national finals of Microsoft Imagine Cup 2018. They will represent Poland in the world finals of the competition, which will take place in Seattle in the United States in July.

The system developed by students provides information on the diver`s position in real time. The data uploaded to the Azure cloud are analysed and then visualized in a smartphone app. This allows to monitor the diver`s position, which directly translates into an improved sense of safety under water.

"The system is designed to ensure that the person monitoring the entire diving process from the surface knows where the divers are and what really happens under water" - adds Wujek, who received special prize of Institute of Industrial Design for the best product design in the national finals of the competition.

In his opinion, currently available solutions are insufficient. "We want to offer the possibility of monitoring not only the depth at which the diver is, but also the exact location, because the time of the rescue operation can be reduced by half if the rescuers know exactly where the diver is" - he adds. An additional function will be the possibility of sending an SOS signal to the person using the application by the diver.

The authors of the system explain that according to the current procedures, divers should stay under water in pairs. Meanwhile, it is estimated that 60 percent accidents are caused by the fact that divers separate underwater. Because of this, the students want to improve their system and create a smartwatch for divers that would allow them to monitor their partner`s position.

The Wavy system consists of three modules. "The diver`s transmitter sends a signal to the buoy on the surface that processes the signal and locates the diver. This information is passed to a surface module that sends a signal to the application in the phone via bluetooth. This allows to track the location of each diver equipped with our device in real time" - explains Damian Perydzeński, a student at the Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Electronics, Computer Science and Automation at Lodz University of Technology.

The locator shows the diver`s location on the map and displays the depth at which the diver is located. It will also provide information about the temperature under water, atmospheric conditions and the most important diving parameters, such as the speed of ascent and immersion or the time of dive.

"In addition, we also want to do so-called accident prediction, analyse the behaviour of divers underwater in case of accidents. This is intended to help instructors and the whole diving community prevent these accidents in the future" - emphasises Perydzeński.

In addition, the diver`s route will be additionally checked. If the diver does not change position for a long time, the application will display a threat alert.

Students want to expand the social aspect of their project. The application records the diver`s route parameters, allowing divers to share their underwater travels. "We want to suggest the most often visited locations, combine them and recommend routes" - notes Perydzeński.

Currently, students are focusing on completing a prototype device so that it is ready for marketing as soon as possible. In the future, they want to improve it, but they are also already thinking about future applications. They are considering a similar system for increasing the safety of people using bathing areas, where many accidents also happen.

"The idea is to place a buoy in a bathing area and give swimmers armbands that will connect to the buoy" - adds Wujek.

The remaining members of the Wavy team are: Artur Seliga from Warsaw University of Technology (Faculty of Chemical and Process Engineering) and Michał Andrzejczak and Marcin Lenarczyk from the Faculty of Technical Physics, Information Technology and Applied Mathematics of Lodz University of Technology. The team mentor is Dr. Jarosław Andrzejczak from the Faculty of Technical Physics, Information Technology and Applied Mathematics.

PAP - Science in Poland

szu/ zan/ kap/

tr. RL