netH2O-P: application for divers, swimmers

The netH2O-P is small, lightweight, sturdy and can be used as a personal safety and logging device by professional or recreational divers or for open water swimmers. 

At all times the buoy transmits its location (as retrieved from GPS) and water conditions in the cloud, for security and for activity logging. Of course this data is kept private unless you choose to share it. Data can be used, for example, for reporting of professional activity, or to monitor in realtime the activity of a group of divers in a complex operational environment. This configuration is intermediate between a "hard" link to the surface (say with an umbilical, or a communications cable) and a free dive. It is much more convenient for the diver, given that the connection is with a thin textile line, but it still provides many of the benefits of a hard connection.

For recreational dives, it adds a completely new level of security to the immersion, without the complexities of a hard connection (which would not be compatible with a recreational activity). In this context, the buoy can be offered by the diving center, or can be owned directly by the diver.

If necessary, the buoy becomes a safety device transmitting an emergency signal. The activation of the emergency signal can happen either acoustically, from a sequence of “clicks” emitted by a handheld device from the diver/swimmer, or by the more traditional method of repeated “hard pulls” on the connecting rope, method used conventionally by divers. When the alarm has been triggered, the buoy can emit a sound and a intermittent light, to better signal the person’s location, and keeps transmitting its GPS position.

Diving or open water swimming with an netH2O allows you to log your activity for later evaluation, lets you share your location with coworkers, friends or loved ones and gives you additional peace of mind, knowing that in case of emergency you can make your position known, even while still underwater. Your emergency signal will be relayed to your chosen list of contacts, who can then activate the appropriate procedures.

Please notice that this is different from the security module application (used mainly for beaches and resorts), in which there is a LoRa-enabled base station which will relay the emergency through the internet and also sound a local alarm: in the present case, the netH2O will transmit the signal via the cellular network instead, without the need for a base station. It is however possible to apply the security module configuration also to the present context; for example, the base station can be hosted on a service boat and can "sound" the alarm received via LoRa both locally and through the internet.