Lahti, Finland — January 12th, 2016 — After more than 6 years of research, the personal underwater navigation technology developed as Project Ariadna is fully operational. The last remaining milestone: Miniaturizing it into a wrist-worn device.

Global scale innovation

No independent personal underwater navigation technology has been created, until now. The GPS
satellite signal cannot be used, as the high-frequency signal penetrates only approximately 2
millimeters into the water, rendering it useless for divers. Over the years, a number of attempts
based on ultrasonic signals have been made, but limitations caused by signal reflections and many
other environment-related drawbacks have made these products impractical.

An algorithm 6 years in the making

The idea behind Project Ariadna is to use an inertial navigation data fusion principle to calculate
a diver’s position when submerged. At the surface the GPS signal is used as a point of reference.
Immediately upon submerging, Ariadna switches to its inertial data fusion technology.
Using its 11 independent sensors and an extremely sophisticated algorithm, it processes data in
real time and calculates the movement vectors.

As a result, the technology allows a diver to monitor graphically in real time his exact position and
executed route on the map. Ariadna technology provides a diver with precise, turn-by-turn
navigation along the planned route. After diving, the resulting 3D dive log can be reviewed with
such tools as Google Earth, for post-dive analysis and sharing with other divers.

Underwater "Google Maps”

Project Ariadna makes it possible to provide divers with all the familiar features of common GPS
navigation systems, such as Points of Interests (POI). The list of POI in Ariadna's system enables
divers to plan intriguing routes, even in new dive sites. It also possible to add a new POI during a
dive to mark new discoveries, as well as attaching them later to underwater photos and videos.
For post dive analysis, it is possible to review and accurately allocate pictures taken along a dive
route by using powerful features offered by the popular Google Earth software. One of the major
goals of Project Ariadna is to eventually create an underwater map of the world with underwater
Points Of Interest already marked and ready for easy route planning and discovery.

New, precise tool for scientists and explorers

With its ability to record, save and share routes and precise POI markings, Ariadna will be an
exceptionally useful tool for scientists, underwater biologists and explorers. The precise position
information provided by Ariadna as GPS coordinates will make all location data related
tasks, such as cave surveying and mapping of underwater archaeological sites more effective and
straightforward to carry out. If desired, the data collected with Ariadna can be exported to
external software for further processing.

Improving dive safety

Losing orientation in bad visibility may increase stress levels and lead to panic. Frequently, this
results in increased gas consumption, an urge to ascend too quickly, or to surface to a dangerous
spot. Project Ariadna helps to reduce stress by providing constantly updated location awareness,
as well as other safety-related features, such as Remaining Bottom Time and Distance RBTD - an
extension of the currently used RBT. To further improve dive safety, the technology offers the
'Navigate Home' function, which graphically indicates the shortest route to the dive entry point
and is activated with a single press of a button.

About Project Ariadna

Project Ariadna is a scientific project with the goal to develop the world’s first self-contained
personal underwater navigation technology. Project Ariadna started in 2009 and is already
operational. The commercial launch is expected in 2017.

For more information about Project Ariadna visit our stand 3F22.  http://www.ariadna.tech.