DARPA Develops Dolphin-like Tail For Divers

willatnewscientist writes "Forget flippers, the latest idea from the guys at DARPA is a tail-like prosthetic for divers. The (forward-facing) tail, demonstrated at DARPA Tech 2007, is designed to help a diver maintain a speed of 2 knots for up to 300 metres. 'The unpowered, carbon-fibre structure straps to a diver's shins and is used with a motion that is not unlike the way Patrick Duffy swims in The Man from Atlantis. The design is inspired by the way mammals like Seals and Dolphins swim. I caught this video of Powerswim (3.5 MB .avi) at the DARPATech 2007 gathering in Anaheim, California. It would be nice to grab one and try it out when I next head down to the beach, but unless its designers DEKA (the same people who make the Segway) come up with a budget version, the $500 price-tag is going to keep me firmly in my flippers.'"

Can't wait to try it out

[MichaelSmith]

But it reminds me of this gadget I saw on TV somewhere. Its like a bicycle for travelling on water. It has the same two submerged wings but the rider sits above the water and pounds the machine up and down to keep moving (and dry).

This is a beautiful device. Short cord wings are always better once the materials are up to the job.

$500 - not a bad price

[Firethorn]

come up with a budget version, the $500 price-tag is going to keep me firmly in my flippers.'"

Personally, I think that a $500 price tag will result in this gaining widespread use, assuming it's as useful as the article states.

Why? People spend more than $500 all the time on bicycles, surfboards, skis, and other athletic equipment all the time. Matter of fact, I wouldn't be surprised if all the equipment for your typical diver exceeds $2k. A quick search shows new surfboards costing $300-400.

Worst case, it can be rented out to various tourists at $10/day and pay themselves off in well under a year.

Re:$500 - not a bad price

[Anonymous Coward]

Its not uncommon for people to spend $120-$150 on normal fins for scuba diving. Some free diving (holding your breath and swimming to depth) fins can go for over $200. The Omer Millennium Carbon Rekord III has a MSRP of $504 (this sells for $420 online).

So I'd think that a $500 fin if useful could have quite a market. Recreational divers would probably just use underwater scooters if they really needed to go a great distance from their entry point so I'm not sure how hot they'd be on having to kick it themselves. Not to mention that during the fun part of the dive people like to be able to go at a slow speed so they can see things so they'd need to bring normal fins too.

Re:Conversions and comments

[gujo-odori]

Very, very specialized situations? Uhh, this *is* DARPA we're talking about here, so it's pretty likely those are just the situations they had in mind.

Re:I am eating DOLPHIN right now!

[fyngyrz]

Mmmph. I dunno. This thing seems like an invitation for a shark to presume you are a nice, big fish.

Not to sound paranoid or anything, but I guess I'll let other people use them for a while first. ;-)

wait......

[proadventurer]

As noted: 300 meters in 4.7 minutes. Uh, how many people can hold their breath for just under 5 minutes? Wait, I'll answer for you: Not even many SEALS I know can hold out that long without moving. This is really a piece of combat equipment to be used with oxygen and not for tourists OR a novilty. Swimmers already have monofins that can propel you "almost" as fast.

Re:$500 - not a bad price

[malkavian]

I'm a diver, and I'd shell out $500 for a pair.. And yep, my diving kit exceeds 2k. Double that and you start to be in the right area.
Fins are one of the areas that I'd love to be able to get more power from without increasing my fatigue. If someone comes up with a way of doubling my speed, while keeping my air consumption constant, I'd leap at it.
While you're under water, everything you carry keeps you alive, and fins, often forgotten, are critical in keeping you effective in a current. There's been the odd time or two, when I've been caught in an unexpected stream, and being forced to cling to rocks to stop myself being pushed either off course (bad) or down (worse). At times like that, when being faced with a downdraught to 70m or more, you'd gladly pay all you had, and more, just to give yourself the best chance of surviving the dive. Sadly, you don't get the option when the most need it; you have to pay in advance, and hope you never need it..

On the fun side, it'll double your range if you get twice the speed, with no increased air consumption. That means more to see with each dive. Not sure you can do a wreck penetration with one of those on you though. Too much opportunity for it to snarl, and kick up the silt. And one thing you don't want is to be stuck inside a wreck, and have the world go dark (yes, you can get zero visibility quite easily from a badly executed fin kick or two in silty conditions).

this is useful

[NRISecretAgent]

SEALs turning into dolphins. Sounds like they're going backwards. And what do they do if it's a hot landing?

Re:Conversions and comments

[Trouvist]

Seeing as how I was a competitive swimmer in highschool and college, we would often do 100 meters in around 1:30 for warmup. Consequently, 300 meters would take 4 minutes and 30 seconds; basic swimming, not even getting out of breath. We could go THOUSANDS of meters at that pace (which is still faster than what this contraption does). So technically, this really isnt all that fast.