가민 Descent™ S1 Buoy

Communication between divers underwater or between divers and the support team on board is limited. Traditionally, divers had to come up to the board and use hand signals or rely on physical signals (such as shaking the line), and it was difficult to immediately report underwater distress, which was dangerous.

In addition, the boat team on the surface could only roughly estimate the location by looking at the diving bubbles, and there was a risk of missing divers because they could not know exactly how far the divers had gone.

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The Descent S1 Buoy system consists of a communication buoy floating on the surface and a combination of Descent dive computers + T2 transmitters worn by divers. Using Garmin SubWave sonar technology, the buoy simultaneously tracks up to 8 divers within a 30m radius, receives each diver's depth, direction, and remaining air information in real time, and displays it to the surface team [69].

Divers can also send predefined short messages (e.g., “Start ascent”, “Problem”) via their watch-type computers, and conversely, the boat team can send messages such as “Return” from the buoy to the divers [70]. All of this is done through ultrasound-based communication, which is possible up to 100m underwater, enabling wireless two-way communication without traditional radio or wires.

In summary, the integration of real-time location + biometric information tracking + simple communication is innovative.

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Scuba diving teams/educational institutions, and rescue teams (B2B/B2G) are the primary customers. For example, diving shops can purchase it as safety equipment and rent it to tour customers.

In addition, individual recreational divers (B2C) who invest in safety can purchase it directly (especially if they are already Garmin dive computer users). The Coast Guard or fire rescue teams can also adopt it for accident preparedness.

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It has the potential to emerge as a new essential equipment in the global diving equipment market. Since it is linked to the Garmin ecosystem (dive computer, sensors), customer lock-in is easy, and derivative models for freediving etc. can be developed in the future.

There are no regulatory barriers, but it requires education and awareness raising as it changes existing diving practices. However, it is highly likely to become standard equipment in the mid- to long-term due to the safety-conscious trend.

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It became the biggest topic in the marine technology field by winning the CES 2026 Innovation Award. Diving experts praised it as "Team sports are now possible in the sea" and "The birth of a diver safety net", and it is evaluated as opening a new era of underwater communication.

It is much simpler than existing wired communication equipment, and market expectations are high due to Garmin brand reliability. There are almost no opinions of overestimation, but only pointing out the distribution speed due to the price range and compatible device limitations (only Garmin device users can use it). Overall, the reaction is very positive.

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