Haptic awareness system
Feel the unseen
AquaSync is a wearable haptic system for divers. It turns information into touch, so you can sense direction and warnings without looking at a screen.
Patent pending. Prototype in development. Get the companion app
Welcome to your sixth sense
Our first film, in sixty seconds.
Concept film. Scenes marked "Future development" show capabilities that are planned, not yet built.
What the ocean takes
Sight
Visibility drops, light fades, and what's beside or behind you disappears.
Direction
Without a horizon or landmarks, it's easy to lose track of where you're heading.
Your buddy
The people you dive with can drift out of view in seconds.
Warning
Hand signals need eye contact. Screens need a glance. In an emergency, you might have neither.
AquaSync gives some of that awareness back, through the one sense the water leaves alone: touch.
A language you feel
The first AquaSync vest places eight coin-sized haptic motors at your shoulders, ribs and lower torso, six on the front and two at the back of the shoulders. Each one vibrates on its own, so where you feel a pulse, how long it lasts, and how often it repeats can all carry meaning.
Try a few signals:
Watch a pulse travel around all eight points, or pick a signal. A pulse along your left side: something to your left, or turn left. A pulse along your right side: something to your right, or turn right. Two light taps on the front shoulders: a quiet confirmation that all is well. Every point, longer and stronger, repeating: stop and check your surroundings. Pulses rising from your waist to your shoulders pace a slow, safe ascent. Falling pulses guide your descent. Slow, deep pulses at the back of both shoulders, repeating: your air is running low, time to head up.
These patterns are illustrative. Depth guidance and low-air alerts are planned features. The final AquaSync language will be shaped by testing with real divers.
Built around your gear, not over it
Works with your BCD
The first AquaSync is a standalone vest. You keep the buoyancy compensator you already trust.
Stays out of the way
Haptic points sit clear of straps, the cummerbund, inflator hardware and tank mounting, so nothing changes how your BCD works.
Slim by design
Each haptic motor is planned to be about the size of a dime and only a few millimeters thick, wired inside the seams to a single controller and battery.
Where we are
AquaSync is being built one proven step at a time. Here's an honest look at what works today and what comes next.
- Touch from codeThe controller drives a haptic motor on commandProven
- Sensing motionA motion sensor reports movement to the controllerProven
- Closing the loopMovement is detected and answered with a vibrationProven
- Multiple haptic zonesIndependent control of several points on the bodyIn progress
- Haptic languageTesting which patterns divers recognize reliablyPlanned
- Wearable prototypeElectronics integrated into the vestPlanned
- Waterproofing and reliabilityUnderwater operation and durability testingPlanned
- Diver testingRecognition, comfort and BCD compatibility in the waterPlanned
- Manufacturing prototypeRepeatable construction and production documentationPlanned
- Full V1 demonstrationThe complete vest, shown to partners and investorsPlanned
From vest to platform
V1 is in development today. V2 through V4 are where we're headed.
The AquaSync vest
A standalone eight-point haptic vest that works alongside your existing BCD. It's how we prove the haptic language in the water.
AquaSync Ready
BCDs made with an established manufacturer, with dedicated space and attachment points designed for AquaSync.
Fully integrated
Haptics built directly into a purpose-made BCD, turning the diver's own body into the interface.
Full-body AquaSync suit
A complete wetsuit with haptics built in and bone-conduction audio for music and spoken cues. Connect over Bluetooth before the dive to upload your music and choose from thousands of other things to bring with you, then use the companion app to set up, review and share your dives.
Beyond the water
SummitSync
The same haptic language, taken above the treeline. SummitSync is an AquaSync vest for climbers and alpine hikers, so you can feel which way to go in a whiteout, when you're climbing too fast and when it's time to turn around, without pulling off your gloves to check a screen.
It carries over the vest, the haptic zones, the controller and the companion app from the dive build, and swaps depth sensing for altitude, GPS and temperature.
- Same vest
- Same haptic zones
- Same companion app
- Built for snow, not salt
SummitSync is a concept. The AquaSync dive vest comes first. SummitSync is a pacing and awareness aid, not a replacement for a map, compass, avalanche beacon or guide.
RouteSteering
Load a GPS track before the climb. A buzz on your left or right shoulder steers you back on route when fog or snow takes away the view.
PaceAscent rate
A pattern you'll learn to recognize when you gain altitude faster than the daily limit you set, so you pace yourself for acclimatization.
TurnaroundTime to descend
A strong, unmistakable pattern at the time you set to head down, summit or not.
Rope teamPartner awareness
An alert when your partner's vest gets too far away or stops moving.
ColdLayer temperature
A chest pattern when the temperature inside your layers drops too low.
Feel a summit push in 60 seconds
Three hours on a ridge, compressed into one minute. Press play with sound on and watch the vest light up as the fog, cold and clock close in. Tap an alert to turn it off.
Sample climb made for this demo. On iPhone, turn off the silent switch to hear it.
VR & gaming
PlaySync
The same vest, on dry land. Feel an explosion roll through your chest, footsteps creeping up behind you and a hit land on the exact side it came from. It's the AquaSync haptic language turned toward immersion.
The vest listens to your game's audio and turns it into touch, so it works with games you already play, with no special support needed from the game.
- Same vest
- Same eight zones
- Works from game audio
- PC, console audio or VR
PlaySync is a concept. The AquaSync dive vest comes first. The audio-to-touch software has been tested on recorded game sounds, not yet on the finished vest.
ExplosionsWhole vest
A deep rumble that hits your chest first and rolls through to your back, then fades.
DirectionLeft, right, behind
Gunfire, hits and footsteps land on the side of your body they came from, so you can react before you see it.
ImpactsSharp bursts
A quick, hard jolt where a hit lands, separate from the heavy rumble of explosions.
OverheadShoulders
Rotors, jets and anything above you sweep across your shoulders.
Any gameAudio driven
No game mods or partnerships needed to start. If the game makes the sound, the vest can feel it.
Feel a match in 60 seconds
Press play with sound on. Footsteps, gunfire, an explosion, a hit and a helicopter, each one felt where it happens. Tap a moment to turn it off.
Sample match made for this demo. Headphones help you hear the left and right. On iPhone, turn off the silent switch.
The companion app
Pair your vest, check all eight haptic points before you get in, plan your dive and load your music, then replay what the vest told you once you're back on the boat.
To install: open the app on your phone. On iPhone, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen. On Android, tap the menu, then Install app.
Early preview with example data. It doesn't connect to a vest yet.
Zone check
Pulse each of the eight points and confirm you feel it.
Plan & load
Set depth, time and air alerts, and choose what to bring.
Dive replay
See every cue the vest gave you on your depth profile.
Dive log
Keep every dive, with alerts flagged.
Join the waitlist
Be the first to hear about diver testing, progress updates and when AquaSync becomes available.
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Help build it
AquaSync was founded by Nicholas Martz. We're looking for people who want to help bring a new sense underwater.
- Investors in early-stage hardware
- Manufacturers and BCD makers
- Embedded and wearable engineers
- Divers who want to help test