Scuba mask turns divers into human fish

A new piece of underwater breathing apparatus wouldn’t look out of place in a James Bond movie. The conceptual scuba mask,dubbed Triton,allows divers to breathe under the sea without heavy oxygen tanks.

The re-breather, which acts like a fish gill to extract oxygen from water, can be used for 45 minutes and to a depth of 15feet.It’s easy to use with swimmers just being required to bite down on the plastic mouthpiece, while the textured arms, which branch out of the sides of the mask, deliver oxygen.

Saeed Khademi, co-founder and CEO of Triton, told Metro how this small mask could be the future of diving.

How did you come up with the idea to create these “artificial gills”?

It was my business partner Jeabyun Yeon who came up with the idea of Triton. We are not divers but we love to snorkel and that’s why we developed Triton.

Is Triton the future of underwater breathing?

There has never been a product like this before and we will further develop Triton for deeper diving.

How do the artificial gills work?

We use many components for Triton and the artificial gillsis one of them. It extracts the oxygen from the water through holes that are smaller than water molecules; so it keeps the water out and lets the oxygen in.

What are Triton’s current capabilities?

Right now, the maximum depth is 15feet and you can use Triton under water for 45 minutes.

In addition to diving, for what other purposes can Triton be used?

We hope to see Triton used on rescue boats and by beach lifeguards. We think Triton could help save many lives.

Do people need to be trained in the use of Triton?

The first version of Triton requires no special skills. But of course, if you have any medical issues it is recommended that you talk to your doctor first before using Triton.

What does the future hold for Triton? Could this device replace heavy oxygen tanks?

We really hope so. We are working seven days a week to further develop Triton and maybe one day we will get there.