Diving

The US Navy is looking at a type of "artificial blubber" to allow divers to work in freezing conditions for hours on end. The approach uses an off-the-shelf wetsuit permeated with inert gases to triple a diver's endurance against the threat of hypothermia.

If global warming causes flooding that inundates the world's coastal urban areas, how will we cope? Biomimicry designer and material scientist Jun Kamei answer is Amphibio – an artificial gill and a breathing reservoir that will allow people to hang out in the submerged megacities.

The US Navy has begun pool testing of its new MK29 Mixed Gas Rebreather designed to conserve helium during deep sea dives below 170 ft (52 m). The test dives took place at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, where it was developed under a project sponsored by the ONR Global TechSolutions program.

​While there ARE wristwatch-style dive computers, many divers prefer something with a larger screen. Unfortunately, such devices can cost over $1,000. A group of South Korean entrepreneurs is out to change that, with an inexpensive device that converts existing smartphones into dive computers.

Evolution is such a gradual process that it can be easy to think it’s not still happening. Now, researchers have discovered a striking example of natural selection at work in humans: a seafaring population of people with a mutation that allows them to dive deeper and hold their breath longer.

​While it's important for scuba divers to log the stats of their dives, it's also nice if they can learn about nearby dive sites they haven't tried before. The Mazu dive tracker is designed to help them do both.

​Freedivers – those people who dive to great depths without an air supply – typically have to use masks instead of less bulky, more hydrodynamic goggles. A group of Italian entrepreneurs have set out to change that, however, by designing goggles that take on water as they go deeper.

​What happens when you purposely sink an historic WWII ship with a large scale sculpture of a giant octopus? A new fascinating marine experiment blending art and coral reef planting dubbed The Maverick BVI Art Reef.

Scorkl is a lightweight breathing device for quick dives. It can be topped up using a hand pump, and lets the user swim for up to 10 minutes at a time. Having reached its funding goal within four hours, the Scorkl has just ticked over AUD$1 million of backing, and is set for delivery this October.

Scuba diving can also give some people a feeling of claustrophobia. This is because the flat lenses of most masks offer little or no peripheral vision, limiting divers to only seeing what's directly in front of them. That's why the panoramic AAK 180 was created.

An add-on electric drive like the ElectraFin is a great way to take some of the "paddle" out of paddle sports. The all-new Bixpy Jet is the latest, and it packs serious versatility. It'll power your kayak, your canoe, your stand-up paddleboard ... and even you. ​

​Many aerial drones now feature a Follow Me mode – that's where they can be instructed to autonomously fly along above you and shoot video as you ski, cycle, run or otherwise move about. However, what happens if you're a scuba diver? Well, in the near future, you might buy an iBubble.