Outdoors

HUD takes a dive, with Maoi

HUD takes a dive, with Maoi
A functioning Maoi prototype in use
A functioning Maoi prototype in use
View 3 Images
A functioning Maoi prototype in use
1/3
A functioning Maoi prototype in use
A rendering of the production version of Maoi
2/3
A rendering of the production version of Maoi
Users see Maoi's reflected display as if it's appearing in the water 2 meters (6.6 ft) in front of them
3/3
Users see Maoi's reflected display as if it's appearing in the water 2 meters (6.6 ft) in front of them
View gallery - 3 images

We've already seen head-up display (HUD) tech applied to things like ski goggles, swimming goggles and cycling glasses. Now, with its Maoi system, French company Thalatoo is bringing HUD to third-party diving masks.

Maoi takes the form of a device that is strapped to the diver's forehead above their existing mask, where it serves the same purpose as the dive computer that they would typically wear on their wrist.

An LCD display of data such as temperature, depth, elapsed time, compass heading and required ascent rate is projected onto a clear optical reflector, that sits over the user's left eye. As a result, they see the reflected display as if it's appearing in the water 2 meters (6.6 ft) in front of them.

A rendering of the production version of Maoi
A rendering of the production version of Maoi

Buttons on the side let users manually switch between datasets, although the type of data that's displayed also changes automatically, based on whether the diver is descending, exploring, or ascending. The display additionally appears on an outward-facing screen on the main device, so that the user's diving buddy can see their data too.

Maoi is claimed to work for up to 10 hours on one charge of its lithium-ion battery, and has a maximum operating depth of 60 meters (197 ft).

It's currently the subject of an Indiegogo campaign, where a pledge of €290 (about US$342) is required to get one – the estimated retail price is €490 ($579). Shipping should take place next August, if everything works out.

You can see Maoi in use, in the following video.

Source: Indiegogo

Māoï by Thalatoo : The first smart dive computer with head-up display (VOST)

View gallery - 3 images
1 comment
1 comment
Ianspeed
Too delicate, can see this being ripped off and sinking to the bottom, or worse still, getting a cylinder dropped against it, sat on etc! I prefer to have all data displayed on my wrist mounted computer at a single glance, not having to wait for a scrolling screen is better than taking your eye off the ball waiting for info. I dive in an average of 1.5mtrs vis in the UK up to 66mtrs, I know this doesn't go to 66mtrs but if I lost it in vis under 5mtrs in a depth over 30mtrs, I wouldn't hold out a huge amount of hope about finding it again. Novelty factor 10...Practicality factor 3... one for the clear, shallow warm water and less experienced diver I think