There are all kinds of apps, like Deco list, to organize the things in your life, and there are others, like AquaApp, which even allows you to receive and send messages underwater. In other words, it will be able to replace the almost 200 signals that professional divers usually use. An app like no other that you can use on your smartphone soon.

AquaApp when you are diving

As we have mentioned, and via TechExplore, the AquaApp app will allow anyone with their smartphone, and whenever they are in an aquatic environment, to communicate with others.

Researchers at the University of Washington have been able to communicate via chat messages underwater. This team has developed AquaApp, the first mobile application for communication in this complicated and special environment.

His research was presented at the SIGCOMM 2022 that was held in 2022 with a video that shows this app’s use, which will take the diving that both professionals and amateurs can do to another place.

How does it work?

The way these app works moves away from using radio signals such as WiFi or Bluetooth to using acoustic signals through the speaker and microphone of an ordinary phone that anyone can use.

Of course, the only thing that is needed is to have a smartphone with the necessary certification to withstand water pressure and thus use its speaker and microphone to communicate with others.

AquaApp offers a user interface of 240 predefined messages that correspond to the hand signals that professional divers can use. It offers 20 common signals for easy access and smooth communication in those aquatic environments.

The app works so that when a user wants to send a message to another device, your app first sends a quick note called a “preamble.” AquaApp starts an algorithm on that second device to determine the best conditions to receive that preamble. It communicates with the first device so that it uses the same conditions to send the message.

The problems they have faced

Justin Chan, a doctoral student at the Allen School, affirms that an aquatic scenario brings to the table problems not common to other apps that we usually use. The fluctuations in the strength of the signal were one of its first obstacles since the signal is modified according to the reflections exerted from the surface, the seafloor, or the coastline.

And it is that even the natural movement of nearby people, such as waves or objects, can interfere with said data transmission, so communication between divers is effective.

Of course, the app also applies sound filters to check nearby sounds that can complicate communication between mobiles, such as the presence of ships, aquatic animals, and even a low-flying plane.

The app has some limits in its operation, such as the distance in which messages can be sent, 100 meters to send beacon signals, and a depth of up to 30 meters.