CES 2008: Underwater Technology Center's UDI Allows Text Messaging Underwater

This nifty little arm mounted SMS device could be the thing that saves your life if you find yourself caught underwater with a lack of Oxygen or coming up too fast. Also, when it's not being used to bring those capable to your rescue, you can just use it communicate with the rest of your team or with those on the ship you dropped in from.

It works with distances of up to 1000 meters up to 56 divers at a time, has a 9 hour battery life that is rechargeable. That's just the beginning, it's been tested underwater for up to 180 minutes, on a single dive, it has a gyro-compensated 3D compass built in, as well as a dive logger, and the SOS function is literally at the touch of a button.

It will work at depth over 200 feet and you can connect up to 14 divers on a single UDI frequency. And, if a diver does send and SOS, you can trace and find them by the UDI they are using. This is a great device for dive teams and compared to the high prices of other dive communication systems, the roughly $1200 price tag that we've heard this will fetch, isn't bad.