Researchers at the University of Washington have developed an app, named AquaApp, capable of enabling instant messaging communication in underwater environments.
Under water, radio waves are absorbed by the liquid element, but sound waves are not, as they are transmitted with ease
Divers already have their own signal language in order to be able to communicate by means of hand gestures when underwater because respirators (or simply being underwater) prevent them from doing so by voice.
With AquaApp, sound signals can be used to send messages to other divers from a smartphone. This will be available to both professionals and recreational divers eager to share their underwater experiences on social networks.
First of all, it should be remembered that underwater radio waves are absorbed and, therefore, it is not an efficient means of communication. On the other hand, sound waves are very easily transmitted, and it is this medium that the application developed by the UW makes use of.
It is an experimental development from the UW Intelligence Lab that uses the phone’s speaker to emit a series of high-frequency sounds through which the message is transmitted. Divers and scuba divers interested in communicating with AquaApp will only need, in addition to installing the application itself, a waterproof case for the smartphone.
However, communication by this method is not straightforward since the ever-changing water conditions vary the very medium through which the acoustic signal is transmitted. From tides and waves to the movement of the divers themselves or vibrations from nearby vessels can interfere with the communication, so the UW researchers confess that even with the ever-changing water conditions, the acoustic signal can be transmitted in a variety of ways must continue to work in real-world environments to refine the operation of the application.
In the first tests, carried out in a bay with a strong swell, they have managed to reliable connections over distances of up to 100 meterswith a low data transmission rate, but still sufficient to communicate simple indications corresponding to the traditional signs of the underwater communication language.
AquaApp is an open source application and is available on the GitHub repository for download by anyone who wishes to use it.
