On my way home for Eid last week, I used a GPS app to escape the traffic on the highway. So far the GPS app has never let me down and saved me from getting stuck on a hot road.
But the GPS system does not exist if you are under the sea. Water cannot penetrate satellite signals. Submarines use inertial navigation systems to travel safely. So when the Diver Navigation System (DNS) was announced by German firm EvoLogics it caught my attention.
DNS is GPS used under the sea. It consists of a buoy with an antenna on the sea surface, a sound transmitter, an arm-mounted DNS coordinate display device, and a signal receiver worn on the diving tank.
Up to five individuals can use DNS simultaneously for each float. In addition to providing precise location coordinates, it can also send two-way messages to the crew on board using a WiFi system. DNS reminds us of the Aqua-Fi system reported four years ago, only this system uses lasers as an underwater communication medium.
The transmitter will send the sound to the receiver. Based on the estimated speed of sound in the sea, the diver's location will be able to be detected with an accuracy of up to 10cm. The DNS system however is still quite limited as it can only provide a tracking distance within 1.5 kilometers from the buoy and up to a depth of 50 meters only.