Scuba-Doo Underwater Scooter 313
hawado writes "Just when you thought it was safe to go in the water, 'Fans of the Segway scooter now have a way to look just as silly traveling underwater as they do on land thanks to the efforts of an inventive Australian company.' 'The Scuba-Doo comes with everything you would want in a submerged Segway.' I just don't know what to say, but I am sure all you /.rs will have some really great comments. The company's web site can be found here."
Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:5, Interesting)
Also, I worry about the company's legitimacy, have you been to their website. That is the worst photoshop work I have ever seen. Plus, they repeat what is on the front page on all of the their pages. Which, if you were counting, for individuals like myself, is only 3 pages total. I WANT MORE INFORMATION
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2, Informative)
But I'm still not sure what is so new about this.
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2)
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2)
RonB
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2)
RonB
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2)
Personally, I think that this is a waste of time. The thing about scuba diving is how hands on you can get. I don't see that as a possibility with this thing.
RonB
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2, Insightful)
It's probably not meant for people who really want to do scuba diving. Cruise ships and resorts will be the biggest customers so retired people can take underwater tours that will take them to maybe 3-4 feet under.
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2)
I thought the opposite when I noticed the site hasn't been slashdotted yet. Clearly they're putting up some decent cash for that much bandwidth.
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:4, Informative)
Here are the dangers facing both a scuba diver and a scuba-doo pilot:
1) Nitrogen buildup, which limits the duration and depth of a dive. Even with unlimited air, you have this problem as your tissues become saturated with nitrogen. The deeper you go, the faster you absorb nitrogen ( because the partial pressure of nitrogen is greaer). if you get too much, it is no longer posible to come up to the surface in case of an emergency, or you will get the bends. If you get too much nitrogen in your system, you effectively have a "ceiling" over your head that you cant go through, and you might as well be diving in a cave or something. Recreational diving tables are designed so that this never happens. (ie. you never have to do a decompression stop)
although usually you do a 3 minute "safety stop" at 5 meters to reduce this danger still more.
2) below about 18 meters, you will start to get the effects of Nitrogen Narcosis. This effectively is like having a couple of beers or a spliff or something, and affects both your judgement and motor skills. When I did my rescue diver course, I had this demonstrated to me with an excercise:
Do some simple calcs on a slate just under the surface, and again at 18 and 30 meters. It took twice as long to do calculations at 18 meters compared to just under the surface. The deeper you go the worse the problem gets, and if you are not experienced with it it's easy to go dancing with the mermaids or go chasing those pretty alien lights down the abyss.
3) It is still possible to get air embolisms if you hold your breath as you are surfacing. If you are holding 1 litre of air in your lungs at 20 meters will become 2 litres of air at 10 meters and 4 litres at the surface.
That's why divers spend time in a classroom - not to learn how to put on their fins or something, but how to survive when in a totally alien environment. This training shouldnt be skipped, as all the same risks still exist.
The dangers, especially the air embolism ones are still there even between 0 to 10 meters. infact, the airembolism ones are greater in this depth range, because the pressure(and hence volume) changes so rapidly over the short distance. At greater depths, say for going from 40 to 30 meters, the volume change is only about 20% (ie. 5 atm -> 4 atm) instead of 100% (ie. 2 atm -> 1 atm).
Oh, and by the way, the Scuba-doo factory is just up the road from my house. The things look a bit like those BMW scooters that have an enclosed canopy.
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:3, Insightful)
This applies only to PADI recreational dive tables. Divers who've been trained properly (eg by BSAC) often use decompression tables.
Which is great so long as you have pleny of reserve air and backup and no accidents - but totally screws you if you *have* to come up due to equipment failure or injury or something. I am not particularly religious about PADI vs NAUI vs BSAC etc, but you have to admit, unless you diving to save lives or you are getting paid serious coin to do it as part of a
Suba facts (Score:5, Informative)
Second when you dive to a depth of 30 to 60 feet or so you can only stay down safely a bit less than an hour or you risk getting the bends (nitrogen saturation of your blood coming out in gass form in your joints and nerves). So the time limit is just fine.
Third you dont have to be certified to use this. fourth, its failsafe in many ways that scuba is not. The number one danger in scuba is forgetting to exhale when ascending (descending is not dangerous). If you forget to exhale on ascent from 60 feet then when you get to the surface you have a few atmospheres of air in your lungs and they literally explode inside of your body. Since ther is a bubble of air around your head there is no time when you would feel like holding your breath. This machine automatically passively equalizes the air pressure for you as you ascend (your nose is also exposed too).
Likewise there is no way to suddenly find the tank is empty. when the tank goes empty you still have a head bubbles worth of air left
One of the little known facts about scuba diving is that if you run out of air then if stay calm you always have enough air in your lungs to swim to the surface from any depth. The reason is that as you go deeper you also have more air in your lungs. You only have to remember to exhale on the way up to let off the excess air pressure.
this thing is attached to a bouy so you cant sink it or goo to deep go into a cave. And you have a lifeline to the surface if you are disoriented. When you get to the surface you have floatation.
A final danger in scuba is too rapid of an ascent. when you try to go up your boyancy device will run away from you: as it expands you rise faster leading to further expansion and pretty soon you are apolaris missile broaching the surface as your lungs go "pop". On the scooter it controls this for you.
On the other hand the joy of scuba diving is the freedom of 3-D orientation. Drift in a current head down. try to use as little effort as possible (e.g dont swim up but instead just control your breathing to control your veritical position). look behind you look all around. This sort of sucks the life out of the sport.
Oh and one more thing (Score:5, Interesting)
And believe me in surging seas and murky conditions puking is something you find neccessary. Its not a fun thought.
but with the bubble, no problemo. Nasty yes. but no though process required and no instant death if you screw up.
Re:Oh and one more thing (Score:2, Interesting)
Actually, it would be a lot more hygenic for the rental market. That's why I ended up buying al lmy own gear - I found a piece of diced carrot in one rental regulator when doing the breathe test.
Mmm!
Re:Oh and one more thing (Score:5, Informative)
You're joking right ? Puking through a regulator is no harder than puking any other way, and I know from personal experience.
As an added benefit you would be amazed at how all the beautiful fish swarm round you afterwards.
Re:Oh and one more thing (Score:2)
Re:Oh and one more thing (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Suba facts (Score:2)
Actually, just a few feet can cuase this, even in a place like a pool. You go from 60' to the surface, yo
Re:Suba facts (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Suba facts (Score:2, Insightful)
Didn't they used to be advertised as SCUBA "BOB"? (Shakes head at silly name...)
I don't meant to be picky (and not to pick on your post) but I see the following a lot in the dive industry:
I think that the number one danger is diving beyond your training... We creatures we
Mod parent down! (Score:3, Informative)
As a certified (PADI Advanced) diver, I will say your post is filled with distorted facts, if not downright factual errors. I pray for your safety when you dive and hope you are not my dive buddy!
For example:
---when you dive to a depth of 30 to 60 feet or so you can only stay down safely a bit less than an hour or you risk getting the bend
Incorrect.
Bends, more correctly known as decompression sickness, is caused by rapid decompression i.e. ascending too quickl
Um, not like the movies (Score:4, Informative)
It's not a problem because, like pilots, you never plan on using all your air/fuel. You always have a reserve- most divers, for example, start surfacing(depending upon how deep they are) when they hit anywhere from 1500 to 500 psi(used to be 500 psi, everyone's encouraging a much larger margin). The divemaster would take this into account when timing a dive, for example.
It's also not a problem, because as you use up the air, the tank becomes lighter and the whole thing(including you) becomes more buoyant, not less. The weight difference between a tank at 3000+ PSI and 500 PSI is quite significant in terms of buoyancy control, and is why you need to be slightly negative when you first get in the water if you're diving. If you're not, you're going to run a rather serious risk of uncontrolled ascent towards the end of your dive. It's one of the many situations that can lead to decompression sickness.
It would not surprise me in the slightest if the unit was designed to be slightly positively buoyant at all times, so that if it stops moving forward, it slowly floats to the surface. That could be used in conjunction with a low-pressure switch to shut off the unit if the air pressure gets too low.
Oh, and even if the thing did start sinking, guess what? You get out, blow bubbles and kick to the surface; it's not like you're in a sub that's gonna implode. By the way, blowing bubbles or exhaling is very important- if you don't, you're going to have a punctured lung. At the depths this thing is designed for, decompression sickness most likely won't be a problem.
The only real problems I see are a)serious potential for reef damage(it's bad enough with divers whacking things with their flippers, this thing crashing into a reef would be devastating) and b)improper training(SCUBA is very safe, but only when you know what you're doing. When you don't know what you're doing, it becomes very dangerous, which is why you can't rent equipment(or even buy it, from some shops, unless they know you're a student) without proof of certification or enrollment in a class.
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2)
No it is not for everyone.
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2, Informative)
One of the counter-intuitive ways to die while diving.
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:5, Insightful)
At the depth these things are designed to be used nitrogen narcosis isn't going to be an issue.
Having said that, anyone who does go to a depth where safety is a concern should already be dive certified and gotten their advice from someplace other than /. That's the whole point of certification.
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2, Informative)
At the depth these things are designed to be used nitrogen narcosis isn't going to be an issue.
I think you've misunderstood the parent poster's point - he's not talking about nitrogen narcosis, but the fact that at a depth of 30 feet, the air in your lungs will be at a pressure of about 2 atmospheres. If you swam up to the surface and held your breath, that air will expand as you rise, until at the surface you would have twice the volume
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2)
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:5, Informative)
If you dive without scuba gear, the problem cannot happen. You cannot have any more air in your lungs than you started with at the surface. Think about it. Your lungs will feel slightly crushed when going down, and expand back to normal size when going up. No problem.
Incidentally, you cannot have any more nitrogen in your tissue than you started with at the surface either. That's why the guys in Le Grand Bleu were able to go down to a depth of 100 meters, and up again whithin a couple of minutes, without feeling the bends.
The danger of scuba is that you add air (and nitrogen) to your body while at depth, and this air will expand in your lungs if you go up.
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2, Informative)
I've also heard the story of the freediver who took a lungful of air from a scuba diver at depth. The freediver didn't know about scuba, so he didn't exhale as he ascended. Ended up with a burst lung.
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2)
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2, Insightful)
Getting bent isn't even the issue here... These things are meant for toddling along a reef at 30 ft and up. At that depth USN gives you about 4 or 5hrs (I don't have my tables in front of me...). Even DCIEM gives you over 2hrs (150mins if my memory serves).
The issue here is air embolism, where your lungs burst due to trapped expanding air as you go from 2atm (30ft) to 1atm(surface) a
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2)
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2, Insightful)
Indeed. This does nothing to stop someone from panicing and bolting to the surface (likely holding their last "SCUBADOO" breath all the way).
The thing that bothers me about these gagets that you see from the dive industry periodically is that they often offer them as an alternative to proper training.
SCUBA is a safe sport, _but_, it is very unforgiving to mi
Re:Only one picture? (Score:2)
The other pictures were too freaky for the general public.
Re:Not for Everybody, or is it? (Score:2)
Design Flaw? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Design Flaw? (Score:3, Funny)
Re:Design Flaw? (Score:2)
hrm... (Score:3, Interesting)
Just wait till someone swaps the engine in it....
I wonder how fast that can go and still be "safe".
Underwater bike races! whee.
Are these new? (Score:5, Interesting)
Next week will we be hearing about snuba?
Re:Are these new? (Score:2)
not new- tiki bob (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.cdnn.info/industry/i031220/i031220.htm l [cdnn.info]
http://www.aquatica-dive.com/actibob_us.htm [aquatica-dive.com]
It sounds like this scubadoo is limited, like the tiki bob, to only a few meters of depth.
J
Right after the site gets slashdotted.... (Score:5, Funny)
Trademark infringement? (Score:3, Interesting)
You're right. What would Hanna-Barbera, the owner of the SCOOBY-DOO trademark [cartoonnetwork.com], have to say about this? Under the Trademark Dilution Act and foreign counterparts, the rule about separation of fields of use don't apply to trademarks as famous as SCOOBY-DOO(R).
Re:Trademark infringement? (Score:5, Funny)
Re:Trademark infringement? (Score:2)
Re:Trademark infringement? (Score:2)
Is it the same maker?
I can't Goggle any connection between scuba-doo and Bombardier.
Re:Trademark infringement? (Score:2)
Can you recharge the battery... (Score:2)
Difference between this and the Segway (Score:4, Funny)
[sean connery] Sho Q, what do you have for me thish time? [/connery]
Re:Difference between this and the Segway (Score:3, Funny)
* Extremely dorky
* Overpriced
* Saves people the arduous task of using their legs
* Gets lots of awkward stares
Differences
* Likely to get you killed
* Makes money
Hence, I would like to suggest the Segway XTREME! The Segway XTREME is powered by Nitrous Oxide, with a 0-60 time of 3.9 seconds. Spring-loaded spikes burst forth from the handlebar at the first sign of a crash. Plus there is a 20 foot metal rod attachment for those of you living in storm country or near
Re:Difference between this and the Segway (Score:3, Insightful)
And instead be comfortable straddeling this huge scooter thing underwater, with a limited field of view and awkward mobility? Please..
With a good instructor, you'd probably be able to go underwater on scuba with about 30 minutes of training (obviously they're not going to teach you everything, but enough fundamentals to be able to do it fairly safely). You don't really notice the gear at all, its
Just wait until... (Score:4, Funny)
Re:Just wait until... (Score:2)
At the very least, you wouldn't have to worry about C or D (much), since it's about 30-40 feet to the bottom, which you can see quite clearly.
I'm waiting for ... (Score:2)
Re:Just wait until... (Score:2)
I think it is legit (Score:2, Informative)
However, that does not make them any less stupid...
Everything you want... (Score:2)
At least we wouldn't have so many concerns about Segways taking up too much space on sidewalks. To use these, they'd have to build waterways on the sidewalks.
Picture (Score:5, Funny)
This fills an important niche. (Score:2, Funny)
Mystery Machine (Score:3, Funny)
yeah (Score:5, Funny)
Yawn. (Score:2, Insightful)
With this thing, you're limited in your visibility; I'd be surprised if you could turn it to look straight down. Also a bit difficult to turn around in a hurry to look at a school of fish (or a shark, or a mantray, or similar) that's just swum behind you.
Thanks, but no thanks.
Great idea... Except it sucks. (Score:5, Insightful)
It is too easy to get your eardrums blown in or your lungs burst, or drown unless you've had the appropriate training.
There are already DPV's (Piver Propulsion Vehicles) on the market for those who dont want to fin their way around the bottom. I think that this product will cause plenty of problems.
Re:Great idea... Except it sucks. (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Great idea... Except it sucks. (Score:2, Insightful)
I could just say to you - "I don't care go out and kill yourself" but I'm actually trying to warn you for your own benefit.
Diving is inherently dangerous, people are not designed for spending any length of time underwater and you need a complex life support system which requires training to use safely.
Most divers are not particularly "highly traine
Voice activated... (Score:3, Funny)
"Scuba-scuba-doo, where are you?"
I know what this is. This is a big joke. (Score:3, Funny)
I mean, her arms appear to be coming from her breasts, if her head's attached to her body like that then she's got incredibly bad scoliosis, and the bottom half of her bikini appears to have been drawn onto her body by an epileptic kid using a pre-alpha version of MS Paint whilst in the middle of a tonic seizure.
Her face also appears to be, for reasons unknown, forced against the front of the plexiglass screen with some incredible force.
Clearly some huge conspiracy
Also known as BOB (Score:5, Informative)
I've done it - snuba is more fun, but this can be less intimidating for inexperienced people.
A picture (Score:2)
The BIG question - options... (Score:2)
- CD changer
- MP3 player
- iPod mount point
- cup holder
- GPS
- climate control (well, for head and shoulders...)
- ashtray
- demister
Re:The BIG question - options... (Score:2)
- friggin' laser
--
Fishing (Score:4, Funny)
"Woa johnny! Look at the size of that thing- you must got yourself a big yellow whaleshark! Hang on there while I give the ole engine some juice to tire the bugger out."
Re:Fishing (Score:2)
I might also add that with your head encased in the plastic bubble it would be much more difficult to find and pull said hook from your ass.
Say...they should feature Cartman operating one of these in a Southpark Episode!
all techy, no tech (Score:5, Informative)
for one thing, inexperienced pilot will have this hard bodied device with which to crash into delicate coral. this will have to be used in a body of water with typically little current, else it become quite easy to lose the group.
It cannot go deep for long since it is still open to ambient pressure, so decompression comes into play as well as gas supply. For every 33 feet (10m) one descends, the pressure increases by one atmosphere. If that tank were to last the diver 60 minutes on the surface, then at 33 feet it would last only 30 minutes, at 60 feet it would be 20 minutes, and so forth.
It might be ok for a few shallow water, shore-based resorts that can charge the units at the dock. Even a fairly cheap diver scooter will be just around 800-1200, and those can only go to about 100-150 feet if you're lucky. In order to go more deep, you have to get more specialized units (www.gavinscooters.com) that can handle the pressure (I've taken mine to 350) and has the battery burn time. Even those units only cost ~$3500. These units are simply torpedo looking devices that tow the diver. The biggest advantage is that it reduces the workload for the diver, thus dropping air consumption and helping one cover more ground.
This device has no similarities other than someone trying to compare two unlike things with a vague attempt at seeming technologically advanced.
Re:all techy, no tech (Score:2)
I
Well, it was a good idea... (Score:5, Funny)
A Diver's Perspective (Score:2, Informative)
If the bad Photoshop work and the poor website wasn't enough to set your fraud alarms off, some basic physics can be used to show that this vehicle is completely unsafe if it were to really exist. Being a certified diver myself, perhaps a bit of information can make my point.
Have you ever sank yourself down to the bottom of the deep end of the pool? Odds are you felt some discomfort in your sinuses. This is because of the increased pressure exerted on your body at depth. Remember the ideal gas law? PV = n
Re:A Diver's Perspective (Score:3, Informative)
uh-huh (Score:2)
did I miss anything?
Priceless (Score:2)
One wet suit $400.00
The photographs of thousands of untrained drivers caught in the undertoe easily spotted by this garish yellow device... Priceless
Somethings in life require training... for everything there are credit cards.
top-10 list of bad ideas (Score:5, Insightful)
I once took a diving course, as have others who are reading this. There are a number of things to learn regarding safety. This Scuba-Doo machine obviously tries to handle all that worry for you. However I don't believe an unknowledgable person should be sent underwater just for recreational purpose, even if a machine *may* handle the main safety features automatically. The person will be better off if they learn about their underwater environment (the fundamentals) before attempting to enter it in any way, and how to react properly in certain situations. Save the $14,000 and instead spend a few hundred bucks on a diving course which will provide you with much more enjoyment and hands down give you a safer experience (by way of knowledge).
... and even then it looks like a good reef-destroyer.
This machine is impractical (does not remotely resemble classic diving) because you can only use it in a very basic environment
Re:top-10 list of bad ideas (Score:2)
Unfortunately (Score:2)
If you really want to know why this is a terrible idea, read some of the posts from certified divers, and anyone who dives without being certified is going to be a bad statistic someday.
These vehicles will ultimately HURT the reefs (Score:5, Informative)
Have you even seen the damage done by a cruise ship dragging anchor across the ocean floor?
Have you even seen a 3000+ year old reef destroyed by some offcourse barge?
Do you know that most of the reefs at popular dive destinations are DYING?
The last thing we need are a bunch of inexperienced divers crashing these underwater vehicles into table corals, soft corals, and otherwise speeding up the demise of our fragile coral reefs.
Think I'm exaggeratting?
Freighter damager 1200ftX200ft swath of Florida reef [sun-sentinel.com]
60% of great barrier reef hit by bleaching [ananova.com]
Great barrier reef 50 years from death [bbc.co.uk]
Sewage killing Tobaggo's reef [newsday.co.tt]
Bottom trawling fishing destroys large portions of deep water coral reefs never explored [eu.int]
You forgot one (Score:2)
The Seychelles reefs [disasterrelief.org] are just about gone. What was once arguably the best reef to dive in the world outside the Great Barrier is now a graveyard.
And this knowledge isn't from reading an alarmist's evaluation of the situation, it is from seeing it with my own eyes on dives I did last year on Mahe, Praslin and La Digue. A conservative estimate would be that 90% of the reefs are dead. Probably closer to 95%, but as I didn't dive every square inch, I can't say there aren't
What a monster (Score:3, Insightful)
photoshopping (Score:2)
Man! (Score:2, Flamebait)
Scuba-Doo / BOB (Score:3, Informative)
A lot of people right off the cruise ship that had never seen the ocean had a great time doing it. As a scuba diver, I got in and wanted to get out.
It's great if you've never been salt water wet, otherwise, snorkeling or scuba beats it anytime.
Lawsuits? (Score:2)
I knew I would think of something to say... (Score:2, Funny)
"a comparative test drive between an under-water propeller driven, blue and yellow one-person SubBug, and a giant manta ray." - Douglas Adams, Salmon of Doubt, "Riding The Rays." Douglas gets a free trip to Australia to write about it. Conclusion - "Your manta ray is going to be a lot faster and more manoevrable, and you don't need to change its tank every twenty minutes. But the big points that the Sub Bug wins are fo
Who else read "Scooby Do Underwear"? (Score:3, Funny)
Picture of the thing in action. (Score:2, Informative)
Well, that's a trademark lawsuit waiting to happen (Score:3, Interesting)
They may claim they had Scooby-Doo in mind when naming this, but unless they are actually a division of Bombardier (which it doesn't appear they are), they might expect a lawsuit from them, do to the similarity to products like these [seadoo.com] and these [ski-doo.com]
not like a segway at all, moron (Score:2)
There are very few ways to move around underwater. there is a large tourist market for this, for it allow people to go underwater with little training and less chance of death.
Why not a REAL underwater scooter? (Score:2, Interesting)
There's nothing like strapping yourself to an electrical torpedo from the crotch...
Re:So wait a minute... (Score:2)
but talk about claustrophobia!
Re:Geek Mods (Score:2)
Re:Geek Mods (Score:2)