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Re: Exosuit

Axel Iehle wrote:

> How did Phil to reduce from the 250kg of the Newtsuit
> down to the 80kg of the Exosuit?...
> Ah! I know: the first one was in beton while the last is in plywood! ;-)

Hi, Axel - yes, he used plywood and wood glue for the joints!  Actually, he used a
completely different joint technology for the Exosuit.  It's not even close to the
NewtSuit.

Exosuit can be used with fins - almost anywhere on the Continental Shelf.  It will
completely replace much of the heliox diving.  Mobility, no decompression chambers,
exotic gas mixes, very little surface support, MUCH safer diving in the short and
long term, and more.  The joints are the secret.  The visor offers a much safer range
of visibility than
Rat Hats, Navy hats, or just about anything else out there.  Instrumentation is to
the left and right and below the chin.  The visor also curves down below the chin to
offer the diver a view downward toward the feet.  The diver avoids having to bend at
the waist.

I'm sure that pump jets can even be installed in protected shrouds (tunnels) for
static maneuvering.  Small motors/props for further movement.  Staying away from the
WASP design of large props/shrouds would make sense.  Especially since getting
snagged during a dive is one of the dangers of working u/w (ref. J. Sea-Link).

Can anyone tell that Phil is a science fiction advocate?

> I really wonder what will be the price of such a neat bathsuit...

If I remember what Phil said at the diving conference in Oct., he was shooting for a
possible $30 to $50,000.  For us it's a lot.  For the commercial guys, it's a drop in
the bucket.  Phil had his sights on a sport model with less depth capability.  I
believe he'll see what happens with Exosuit commercially to see if the manufacturing
costs for a sport suit will be justifiable.  A Viking suit is close to $2,000.  If a
modified sport suit could be sold for $15 to $25,000, I think there are a lot of well
off people out there who would love to be the first kid on the block with one.

Rick
--
Rick Lucertini
empiricus@sprint.ca
(Vancouver, Canada)