Open Standard for the communication between electronic SCUBA equipment Benefits & Requirements overview Sven Paepke

Table of Content Purpose of the standard Current status A possible future state Benefits Scenarios The standard Conceptual architecture Requirements/features Next steps

Purpose of the standard To develop and promote an open, vendor independent standard for the communication between electronic equipment used in SCUBA applications To assist vendors with the development of standard-compliant electronic equipment for use in SCUBA applications

Current status No interfaces exist, or, vendor proprietary interfaces If a vendor does not offer a gadget with the required features, the user can only resort to home-build Small after-market, because of the small market being further fragmented by vendor and product User cannot mix and match

Current Status – cont. Manufacturers have to develop every device themselves – resulting in significant R&D, tooling, testing, manufacturing cost Manufacturers have to divert significant capital to the development of add-on gadgets, rather than being able to focus on their core product(s)

A possible future state An Open, cross-industry, standard exists that gives manufacturers of dive computers, electronic gauges, closed circuit rebreather electronics, PC software vendors and home builders access to information within 3 rd party devices Users can combine devices from different vendors in order to set up their dive gear to suit their budget, the purpose of the dive and their level of diving Vendors can sell into a larger market

Benefits For the manufacturer –Focus capital on further development of the core product –Can still develop add-ons later –Potential to sell to larger market – the market size is only determined by the number of devices that support the standard –More simple designs – eg. the device may not need a display –New gadgets possible – eg. a HUD that warns of deco ceiling violations, besides showing the status of the O2 sensors –Cheaper development as interfaces have been defined already For the user –Mix and match of devices from different vendors is possible –Can continue to upgrade or replace equipment –Can chose most appropriate, or most suitable combination of devices –Can extend the equipment by adding new devices

Scenario #1: Download of Dive Log to a PC by an Open Circuit diver

Scenario #2: Connecting an aftermarket HUD to an Electronic Closed Circuit Rebreather

Scenario #3: Connecting a dive computer to an Electronic Closed Circuit Rebreather

Scenario #4: ????

The standard Release 1: Sending only, no feedback Release 2: Two way communication between devices, extended set of data Data standards Physical standards (wired/wireless) Procedures: comments, enhancements, release Certification: testing, cerification Using the standard

Conceptual architecture Device A (Sender) Device B (Listener) Device C (Listener) Device B (Sender) Data set #abc Data set #def Senders: Dive computer Electronic depth gauge eCCR electronics Electronic compass Listeners HUD Dive computer Sensor Data sets Current depth, time, dive time, temp, … O2 sensor status and data …

Requirements/features No guaranteed delivery Wired and wireless Wet-pluggable Useful set of devices and data

Next steps Enlist support and participation of at least two major vendors Set up a Standards Committee Finalise requirements for Release 1 Develop standard and achieve sign-off by the parties involved Evangelise Prepare Release 2