Researchers from the University of Washington have developed AquaApp, the first messenger for underwater communication. To use it, you only need a smartphone or a smart watch.
This is written on the website of the University of Washington.
The application works with the help of acoustic signals.
“With AquaApp, we demonstrate underwater messaging using the speaker and microphone widely available on smartphones and watches. Apart from downloading the app to their phone, all people need is a waterproof phone case designed for submersion," noted Tuochao Chen, Ph.D., co-creator of the messenger.
The most popular way of communication among divers under water is gestures. Professionals know more than 200 signals, which are used to convey information about safety, direction of movement, etc.
AquaApp has a list of 240 preset messages that display these alerts, with the 20 most common displayed prominently for easy access. Users can also filter messages by eight categories.
Experiments have shown that AquaApp can work at a depth of up to 12 meters and transmit messages at a distance of up to 113 meters.
"Based on our experiments, up to 30 meters is the ideal range for sending and receiving messages underwater, and 100 meters for SOS beacon transmission," Tuochao Chen added.