aquaLinkFitbit for America’s Divers

Navy divers perform challenging tasks under difficult conditions that have long-lasting health impacts.

How might we protect both the short- and long-term physical health of our nation’s divers?

aquaLink is a wearable device that records data critical to diver health and safety, and makes it actionable through real-time alerts and post-usage analytics.

TEAM

Dave Ahern: International Policy/Defense AcquisitionHong En Chew: Hardware EngineeringRachel Olney: Product DesignSamir Patel: Mechatronics/Finance

SPONSOR

Brian Ferguson & U.S. Navy Special Warfare Group 3U.S. Special Operations Commandaqua

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MILITARY LIAISONS

Todd CimicataChris ConleyScott MaytanJameson Darby

ADVISORS

Ray DickMike HardAdrian MantoiuSean MurphyBooze Allen Hamilton

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Team members Hong En Chew Samir Patel Dave Ahern Rachel Olney

Academic program B.S. Electrical Engineering, M.S. Aeronautics and Astronautics

M.S. Mechanical Engineering M.A. International Policy Studies B.S. Product DesignM.S. Mechanical Engineering

LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/hongenchew www.linkedin.com/in/davidahern1 https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelolney

Subject matter expert? Hardware Design and Integration Finance, Mechatronics, Design Military Operations, Military Innovation Needfinding, Hardware Design

How does your expertise fit the problem?

- Experience with programming, printed circuit board design, power electronics

- Recreational scuba diver

-Developing wearable prototypes-Needfinding

-Business Model Viability-Data Science/Database Architecture

-Embedded Computing

-Familiar with DoD procurement and organizational culture

-Successful implementation of lean launchpad-esque principles to solve

several defense related problems

- Needfinding- Rapid and final prototyping

-Created a wearable light for Army pilots-Creation of products that are used in

situations with many constraints

Experience solving a problem that seemed impossible

Led a team of five undergraduates to build a prototype SMS-based remote

monitoring system for small-scale hydropower plants for an Indonesian

nonprofit

Implemented Systematic Trading System for Illiquid Emerging Market

Debt by Coordinating with Operations and Sell-side Brokers

Leveraged commercial off the shelf technology to facilitate evidence

collection through a surrogate Afghan Counter Terrorism Force without US forces actually present on a mission

Overcame many constraints in creating a wearable for military pilots, from safety considerations to Army regulations and

economic viability.

Team Details

Minimum Viable Product

Testing Goals

● What data do divers need?● How do they want it conveyed?● What do they want it to do?

Hypothesis

Navy Divers need an integrated platform that acquires and displays

important real-time data in an easy-to-read manner.

Data Expected

● Good, but what do I need to support this device?

● I don’t think it will survive under the operating conditions.

● Can we add XYZ variables and communicate with other divers?

Customer DiscoveryHypotheses Experiments Results Actions

Dive health concerns are a top priority for both divers and the administration/researchers

Talk to both Admin and Divers about their view of the problem

Admin/commanders are focused on long-term medical issues while divers are focused on short-term mission success

View of the problem as both chronic (long term health) and acute (short term safety and communication)

The vitals specifically requested through the requisition are the only vitals desired/needed

Talk to Navy Medical Dive Officers Pending Scheduled interview with Dr. Karen Kelly, physiologist at the Naval Health Research Center

The Dive Computer’s (a) location of placement and (b) display size are the points of largest concern to the operators

Create a Smartphone Display with Requested Vitals and Dive-Specific Data

Pending Pending

Communication and geolocation will be secondary to diver health concerns and will not be a major focus/priority.

Ask divers (military/academic) about what they saw as the main problems that divers are concerned about.

Communication is more important to the divers than the long-term health concerns, they are focused on short-term mission success.

Ensure that we are catering to the end user’s needs and not just the dive physicians or HPRC. Find experts in this field to interview.

Geolocation is a big problem in terms of reliability, accuracy, and user ergonomics. Potentially a tactical problem as well.

Find experts to interview and learn in detail about the logistics and difficulties with geolocation underwater.

Mission Model

- Need funding from sponsors for further R&D/manufacturing - Need evaluation/ certification by NEDU before field deployment- Early adopters

- Secondary I: Commercial saturation divers (in particular the offshore oil/gas industry)-The broader technical/scientific diving community

KEY PARTNERS KEY ACTIVITIES

KEY RESOURCES

VALUE PROPOSITION BUY-IN / SUPPORT

DEPLOYMENT

BENEFICIARIES

MISSION BUDGET MISSION ACHIEVEMENT FACTORS

- Problem sponsors: Navy Special Warfare Group 3 (NSWG 3), U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM)- Military diver-related research organizations: Navy Experimental Diving Unit (NEDU), SOCOM Human Performance Resource Center, Naval Underwater Medical Institute (NUMI)- Commercial partners: medical device/wearables companies, mil-spec dive equipment manufacturers

- Fundamental cycle: hypotheses -> MVP (rapid prototyping of hardware/ software) -> stakeholder interviews to evaluate MVP -> pivot and repeat

- Defence procurement expertise: course staff, sponsors, DIUX, liaisons- User expertise: military divers, scientific divers- Medical expertise: med sch, SOCOM HPRC

- Hardware/software prototyping costs - Purchase of existing products on the market for evaluation

1. Feasibility: At the end of the quarter, NSWG3/SOCOM decide that our proposal merits further development and initiates their internal processes for funding/pilot testing/field deployment

2. Performance: Our prototype should demonstrate that all critical features can be integrated within given size/weight/cost specs

3. User satisfaction: Divers are excited about the efficiency it delivers and Medical Staff are excited about forecasting health

- Obtain device validation and approval from NEDU- Pilot test with a select group of users in NSWG3 - Scale up to many units in and beyond NSWG3

- Medical Staff: Create the Navy’s first long-term repository of diver health data: detailed dataset to improve training/operation protocols and predict and prevent long-term injuries

Direct users in NSWG3 and other military divers

Military diver-related research organizations e.g. NEDU, SOCOM HPRC, NUMI

- Divers: Seamless integration of real-time vital monitoring, geolocation, and communication with conventional dive computer capabilities: alerts protect diver from short-term injuries