Most teenagers would probably tell you that they’d die if you took away nonverbal communication, but one subset of our population actually could: scuba divers. They can’t exactly send texts via smartphone to one another because saltwater, and water in general, makes it hard to transmit information between dive buddies using traditional methods like electromagnetic waves and even sound waves. And as The Verge points out, hand signals only work if the other person is paying attention to you. One company, however, thinks it has the solution for scuba-lives less frightening, and no, it isn’t a subaquatic version of Snapchat . Aqwary’s Smart Console system uses ultrasonic hydrophones to create a local network between divers (and those in the boat on the surface), where vital data like location info, air supply status and even temperature of up to 70 divers within some 328 feet is shared automatically and viewable via a colorful OLED screen. Should the oxygen tanks run low for any of said divers, the Smart Console will send an alert to everyone in the area. Further on the safety side, if a Scuba Steve gets trapped underwater he can send an alarm out manually so a rescue can happen in short order. However, if coral reefs or shipwrecks become passé and you’d rather catch up with Piper Chapman or beam out a tweet while under the sea, that’ll have to wait for now. The company says there isn’t enough bandwidth for the former, but the latter could show up next year — FOMO, much ? Comments Via: The Verge Source: Aqwary

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Scuba divers get their own underwater comms network

Thermoelectrics — which use wasted heat to generate electricity — could get a lot more interesting thanks to a company called Alphabet Energy . It’s set to commercialize tetrahedrite , a metal that more than doubles the efficiency of current tech for as little as a fiftieth the cost. Thermoelectric materials work thanks to a rare trick: transferring heat poorly while conducting electricity well. However, current materials are pricy and polluting, and only convert about 2.5 percent of heat energy to electricity. Tetrahedrite, meanwhile, could reach 5 to 10 percent efficiency while running a mere $4 per kilogram. Alphabet Energy says it could tap waste heat from industrial plants or even a vehicle’s exhaust system to produce electricity, making it virtually free. That’d mean you could power your car’s cooling AC using wasted heat, ironically — without a solar panel in sight. Filed under: Science , Alt Comments Source: MIT

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Generating power from heat will soon be dirt cheap