Amphi Americas LLC has been preparing to enter the underwater equipment market with their novel approach towards underwater propulsion. Amphi is a monofin with a built-in thruster, which pushes the swimmer through the water.
The central idea behind the Amphi system is hybrid propulsion powered partially by human muscles and partially by electric thruster, the same concept as an electric bike. The swimmer/diver attaches their feet to the Amphi unit and is able to smoothly transition between muscle-powered and electric propulsion. Amphi detects the strength of the kick and adds or subtracts power accordingly. One can change the characteristics of this control mechanism in two ways: by changing the sensitivity to his kicks, or by changing for how long the thruster will remain “on” after the swimmer stops kicking. This allows the person to go between aggressive, sport-like machine, and relaxed cruising pal.
Amphi delivers a smooth transition between muscular and artificial propulsion. It shares the effort between the diver and the thruster. You decide how much support you summon. It extends the battery life and the operational range as well as increases thruster efficiency.
Amphi encapsulates two most common personal modes of underwater propulsion in a single device. It contains advanced sensors and electronics to assist the swimmer/diver with a dive and after-dive analysis, it works as if it was a part of his/her body, it needs no attention. The person is free to enjoy the dive or swim.
Amphi can be turned from a powerful and very dynamic machine to a toy just by its software. Using the phone app, one can change almost anything within the system. But this is not where the flexibility ends. One can change the powerpack and blades. Examples: strong powerpack and short fin blade for mostly powered dives, or smaller powerpack and long flexible blade for relaxed long swims using mostly one’s own muscles, and anything in between. The company plans to offer 3 different powerpacks and 6 types of blades.
Additionally, Amphi has its electronic brain. A pretty powerful one, too. It can take inputs from multiple sensors to control swimming actions. But it can also track the underwater path (including position, speed, and depth), and then display it on a smartphone, or share it on the Internet. In the future, the company will add an optional sensor suite called MyGaya, to record oceanographic data, such as salinity, temperature, and pressure. This will allow the user to become a citizen scientist if desired. Amphi is an intelligent dive buddy. It’s not a mindless towing aid.
The big part of this project has been allowing people to share their underwater experiences online. Thus Amphi is capable of communicating with the cloud via a user’s cellphone. One will be able to sync Amphi’s data to user servers, share them on forums and with friends, compete remotely, etc.
“We use bioengineering to enhance our bodies to become amphibious creatures: half land – half sea, half human – half machine. We use bionic sensing to control our propulsion, so that we can feel like sea animals- be nimble and quick, and at the same time conserve our precious oxygen, we can be like otters or seals just by the virtue of bionic enhancement. We believe that Amphi will bring people closer to the ocean” – Marek Swoboda, PhD, founder and inventor of Amphi
Amphi Americas recently presented its working prototype. The company has been gearing up for an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign. To watch Amphi in action, watch the video here:
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About Amphi:
Amphi Americas LLC is an early stage, R&D company based in Philadelphia, PA specializing in underwater propulsion. Amphi Americas created its first product – Amphi, a powered bionic monofin. This revolutionary underwater propulsion system allows you to swim or dive faster, deeper, more efficiently, explore the underwater world in a more natural way than traditional underwater scooters. Amphi system is based on hybrid propulsion, powered partially by human muscles and partially by electric thruster, the same concept as an electric bike.
