Israeli inventor develops "Like-a-Fish" underwater breathing system

An Israeli inventor, Alon Bodner, has designed and built a system called "Like-a-Fish".

The system is a set of battery-powered artificial gills built to extract the tiny quantities of dissolved air that already exists in water. This air supply is then used to furnish breathable oxygen to scuba divers, submarines and in underwater habitats...

Bodner explained to the BBC: "For a closed-circuit system, the diver would need to pump approximately 200 Liters-per-minute (LPM) of water under ideal conditions, to separate one LPM of oxygen, which a diver needs. A one-kilo battery should be able to supply a diver with one hour of dive time."

The unit exists at this time as a laboratory model. The European patents are approved and US applications are still pending. Bodner is currently focused on installing his system as part of an an underwater habitat in Australia.

The inventor intends to refine his system further with the goal of reducing its size, such as to a lightweight vest apparatus for divers to wear. Bodner explained that a working prototype for individual divers is most likely several years away. For the full story by Lakshmi Sandhana, visit: Inventor Develops 'Artificial Gills'

Source: www.divenews.com