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www.sea-technology.com May 2015 / st 35 N o longer are bubbles the only available topside meth- od of determining diver position. Among the available technologies is the new Diver6 system from Azimuth Inc. (Morgantown, West Virginia), a maritime tracking technol- ogy manufactured in the U.S. that signifcantly enhances diving command, control and safety. Diver6 assists dive su- pervisors in monitoring and tracking divers, providing un- paralleled situational awareness, with applications for port security, search and rescue, underwater construction, recre- ational, military or commer- cial diving. Diver6 communicates with divers up to 100 me- ters depth and 1,000 meters range from the topside mo- dem. It provides real-time information on divers, al- lowing the dive supervisor to make faster, safer and more accurate decisions. How Diver6 Works Diver6 uses acoustic wave technology to transmit data between topside and diver. The single topside mo- dem is both an acoustic mo- dem and an ultrashort base- line acoustic system using multiple transducers to detect a diver's range and bearing. The topside modem is placed below the keel, providing a clear 360˚ view of the monitoring area. Divers have a diver modem attached to their primary tank or rebreather system. The topside modem sends a signal requesting information from a specifc diver. The diver modem responds by provid- ing location, depth, bearing and other system information. Upon receipt of messages from the diver modem, the topside modem resolves the distance between the topside modem and the diver modem (the slant range based on the speed of sound in water), and compass bearing to the diver modem (based upon the angle of approach of the signal from the diver modem). The Diver6 software calculates the absolute geoposition by combining the relative position of the diver to the topside modem and the GPS position of the topside modem. The software updates the status of the diver based upon the data received from the diver modem. Hardware Diver6 is available in three-to-six-diver confgurations and comes in two Pelican cases, with foam trays for com- ponents. The topside mo- dem is mounted on a boat, pier or dock, with 0.3-me- ter position accuracy across 360˚ azimuth. The topside modem battery is airplane- friendly and composed of nickel-metal hydride BB- 390B/U, complying with MIL-PRF-32052/1. The diver modem weighs 1.5 pounds wet, with a rechargeable 12-hour battery. The rugge- dized tablet PC is Windows- based and lightweight, with a daylight-readable display. It monitors and records dive data, is IP-67 rated and meets MIL-STD-810F. Software Capabilities Diver6 enables the dive supervisor to set up diver profles quickly and effciently. Profles can also be edited and man- aged. It monitors divers in 2D and 3D views, showing the location of the divers in the water, and monitors depth and range in relation to the surface craft. Individual and team diver data can be accessed to monitor a particular diver's status. Data from each dive are logged and can be exported for analysis and diver history. Diver6 provides the export of a GPX fle that can be imported into any GPX application. When "recall" is activated, divers in the water can hear a tone from the diver modem alerting them to return to the Diver Tracking System For Enhanced Situational Awareness Diver6 Monitors Key Elements for Dive Operations By Josh Swiger • Gene Garcia • Bill Green Diver6 3D view of divers in the water.