Towards A Wearable for Deep Water Blackout Prevention

Abstract

Freediving relies on a diver's ability to hold his breath until resurfacing. Many fatal accidents in freediving are caused by a sudden blackout of the diver right before resurfacing. In this work, we propose a wearable prototype for monitoring oxygen saturation underwater and conceptualize an early warning system with regard to the diving depth. Our predictive algorithm estimates the latest point of return in order to emerge with a sufficient oxygen level to prevent a blackout and notifies the diver via an acoustic signal.