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1. aquaLink
Navy divers perform challenging tasks under difficult conditions that have long-lasting health impacts.
How might we protect both the short- and long-term physical health of our nation’s divers?
aquaLink is a system of wearable devices that records data critical to diver health and safety,
and makes it actionable through real-time alerts and post-dive analytics.
TEAM
Dave Ahern: International Policy/Defense Acquisition
Hong En Chew: Hardware Engineering
Rachel Olney: Product Design
Samir Patel: Mechatronics/Finance
SPONSOR
Jordan Spector & U.S. Navy Special Warfare Group 3
U.S. Special Operations Command
aquaLink
This Week Previously Total
Users 5 17 22
Buyers 1 2 3
Experts 4 12 16
Interview Breakdown

2. Beneficiaries by Time
Time
ResearcherMedical OfficerOperators

3. Customer Archetype: SEAL
Male, age 21-32
Competitive, driven, physically fit, mentally resilient
Volunteers to join the Navy; spends 2-4 years training
Volunteers to become a Navy SEAL; spends 1.5-2 years
training
Volunteers to join SDV; spends an additional 3-6 months
training
Driven by problem solving and technical mastery
Not naturally focused on the long-term health impacts
Highly specialized; constant pursuit of optimization
Friction: time spent lost, short-term/acute health problems

4. Customer Archetype: Medical Officer
Male, age 25-32
Significant exposure to SDV operations and conditions, but
not an actual end-user
Respond/react to acute health problems
Limited ability to prevent issues based on access to data

5. Customer Archetype: Researchers
PhDs across the board
Medical counterpart of SEALs
Cares about the operators they are helping
Explores uncharted territory
Wants to try new technology
Wields unique influence due to IRBs
Friction: Access to divers and adequate equipment

6. Gaps
Vital Sense pill
? ?
Navy Rebreather Navy Dive Computer
Need Air
Vitals
Sensing
Vitals
Monitoring
Decomp
Mgmt
Geo-
Location

7. Pivot or Proceed?
Geolocation Vitals Monitoring
Type of Need This is the most immediate and active need
the most often mentioned pain point.
This is a latent need that the divers are
unaware of; and a passive need of the
Medical Dive Officers; and an active
need of Researchers
Beneficiary Divers, Dive Officers Researchers, Dive Officers, Divers, Dep
of Navy, VA
Realistic Goal A work around that will function within
specific limitations
A working minimal viable product that
ruggedization of off the shelf products
and aggregation of sensors
Mission
Achievement
Wholesale adoption within SDV,
employment throughout broader NSW
community; limited commercial opportunities
for recreational divers
Adoption within SDV, application
throughout NSW, DoD SOF elements,
limited application within commercial
dive sectors, athletes, etc

8. MVP Vitals

9. MVP Vitals
Courtesy of Cornell University

10. MVP Geo
Buoy is
deployed
when a new
location fix is
needed
Map updates
each time buoy
is deployed

11. Who: Researchers
How: IRB gives them mandate + funds, we
just need to show a proof-of-concept device
that collects the data they want
Who: Medical Dive Officers
How: Need mandate from CO, need
actionable info from researchers
Fewer dive injuries in return
for integrating a wear-and-
forget device into diving SOP
that collects vitals data for
diver health personnel
Provides a reliable method of
collecting vitals data for diver
health research, this is
currently unachievable using
COTS devices
Presents data in a format easy
to use by diver health
personnel in all institutions
Mission Model Canvas (Vitals)
KEY PARTNERS KEY ACTIVITIES
KEY RESOURCES
VALUE PROPOSITION BUY-IN / SUPPORT BENEFICIARIES
MISSION BUDGET MISSION ACHIEVEMENT FACTORS
Problem sponsors: Navy
Special Warfare Group 3
(NSWG-3), U.S. Special
Operations Command (SOCOM)
Military diver-related research
organizations: Navy
Experimental Diving Unit
(NEDU), SOCOM Human
Performance Resource Center,
Naval Underwater Medical
Institute (NUMI)
- Fundamental cycle: hypotheses -> MVP
(rapid prototyping of hardware/ software) ->
stakeholder interviews to evaluate MVP ->
pivot and repeat
-Timeseries of vitals
-Easily-transferrable data
-Easily-manipulated data
-Long battery life
- User expertise: military divers
,scientific divers
- Medical expertise: med sch,
SOCOM HPRC, NEDU
- Hardware/software prototyping costs (RDT&E from NEDU or SOCOM)
- Purchase of existing products on the market for evaluation (NSWG-3 or
NAVSOC N-8)
- Potential Funding for manufacturing/technical advice from Jabil
- Potential Funding for supply chain (PCBs, IC’s, assorted electrical components)
Feasibility: At the end of the quarter, NSWG3/SOCOM decide that our
proposal merits further development and initiates their internal processes for
funding/pilot testing/field deployment
Research case:
Use IRB funds to develop prototypes for
testing with SDVT-1
Regular use case:
NEDU validates prototype, Master Diver
recommends device to CO who authorizes
purchase, NSWG-3 N8 is the purchaser
DIVER HEALTH PERSONNEL
Researchers:
Karen Kelly, NHRC
John Florian, NEDU
Medical Dive Officers
???
OPERATORS
End Users:
LT Scott Terry, SDVT-1
Other SEALs
Influencers:
LT Jordan Spector, SDVT-1
Master Diver, SDVT-1 = ???
Decision Makers:
CO, SDVT-1 = ???
Purchaser:
SDVT-1 CSO, NSWG-3 N8 = ???
Who: Master Diver
How: Demo proof-of-concept device and
NEDU validation results
Who: CO
How: Receive strong recommendation from
Master Diver
DEPLOYMENT

12. Mission Model Canvas (Geo)
Who: SDV/SEAL Divers
How: Master Diver approves
usage
Who: Submarine Crew
How: Unknown entity approves
for usage on submarine
KEY PARTNERS KEY ACTIVITIES
KEY RESOURCES
VALUE PROPOSITION BUY-IN / SUPPORT
DEPLOYMENT
BENEFICIARIES
MISSION BUDGET MISSION ACHIEVEMENT FACTORS
- Problem sponsors: Navy
Special Warfare Group 3
(NSWG-3), U.S. Special
Operations Command (SOCOM)
- Military diver-related
research organizations: Navy
Experimental Diving Unit
(NEDU), SOCOM Human
Performance Resource Center,
Naval Underwater Medical
Institute (NUMI)
- Commercial partners: mil-
spec dive equipment
manufacturers
- Fundamental cycle:
hypotheses -> MVP (rapid
prototyping of hardware/
software) -> stakeholder
interviews to evaluate MVP ->
pivot and repeat
- Defence procurement
expertise: course staff,
sponsors, DIUX, liaisons
- User expertise: military divers,
scientific divers
- Hardware/software prototyping costs (RDT&E from NEDU or SOCOM)
- Purchase of existing products on the market for evaluation (NSWG3 or
NAVSOC N-8).
1. Feasibility: At the end of the quarter, NSWG3/SOCOM decide that our
proposal merits further development and initiates their internal processes for
funding/pilot testing/field deployment
2. Performance: Our prototype should demonstrate that all critical features can
be integrated within given size/weight/cost specs
3. User satisfaction: Seamless integration into current SOP, increased
situational awareness
Operator Usage
How: NEDU validates prototype,
Master Diver gives approval,
SDVT-1 CSO is the
recommender to NSWG-3 N8
who is the purchaser
Submarine Usage
How: TBD
End Users (Divers):
LT Scott Terry, SDVT-1
Other SEALs
Influencers
LT Jordan Spector, SDVT-1
Master Diver, SDVT-1
End Users (Submarine Crew):
???
Provide more accurate location
to increase likelihood of mission
success
Provide information on
teammates’ locations to prevent
‘diver missing’ situations

13. AquaLink Value Proposition SDVT-1 Diver
-Long-term health repository
might make dives safer and
increase performance
-Potential for real-time safety
feedback
- Synchronize oxygen system
and vital monitoring through
wireless connection system
- They are no longer operating in
the ‘dark’
-Small form factor: doesn’t add
weight or space
-Put-and-forget: no involvement
from the diver
AquaLink
Integrated Sensor
Platform Size,
Safety, and Data
-Extremely proficient and adaptive divers
-Access to world class medical
professionals and performance coaches
-Relatively agile procurement/acquisition
process
- No singular interface for all
Dive information
-No ability to monitor vitals in real time
-No ability to maintain flexible
communication between divers
-No overall locational situational
awareness
-Too many pieces of equipment
Conduct
underwater
operations for the
U.S. Military
Value Proposition Canvas

14. AquaLink Value Proposition Medical Dive Officers and Researchers
-Develop tailored platform to
sync individual diver data in
central repository accessible by
medical professionals
-Provide Human Performance
staff with acute feedback to
optimize diver performance
-Ruggedize monitors/sensors to
enhance collection capability
-Develop data sync function that
minimizes operator requirement
-Acquire data during dives
AquaLink
Integrated Sensor
Platform Data
-Funding and approval flexibility
-Scheduled access to divers for testing
-Institutional credibility and established
pathways for testing, procurement, etc
-Durability of current monitors insufficient
to withstand conditions
-No central repository for data collected
-Don’t know what factors lead to what
problems
Collect and Analyze
data on Diver
Health
Value Proposition Canvas

15. Hypotheses Moving Forward
The individual divers should monitor their own vitals during the mission
and the leadership trusts them to.
System should deliver real-time value in the form of system checks (oxygen levels, kick count, etc) to
generate operator buy-in
A heads up display is the ideal form of information transmission during a dive.
Any system should be modular in nature to allow for the integration of evolving technology (geolocation
and communication)
System should pair data transmission with a critical function to force data collection

16. Questions