The newt suit is an Atmospheric Diving Suit (ADS) - think of it as a mini-submarine that you can wear. The idea of an Atompsheric Diving Suit is that you can dive much deeper, for much longer while maintaining a pressure of one atmosphere. This has a number of advantages as it eliminates many of the potential psysiological dangers a diver may otherwise face. There is no need for special gas mixtures, or any need for the diver to decompress which rules out the dangers of decompression sickness or nitrogen narcosis. The Newt Suit is made from cast aluminium, has fully-articulated joints and built in propulsion, meaning the wearer need not even be a strong swimmer. The United States Navy also issued a version of the Newt Suit, which was made from forged aluminium.
The Newt Suit
Developed in 1987 by Canadian engineer Phil Nuytten the Newt Suit can operate at depths of 300m providing air for 6-8 hours with an emergency supply lasting another 48 hours. The Newt Suit is one of a few Atmospheric Diving Suits currently in active operation, including the WASP which is constructed from glass-reinforced plastic (GRP).
Newt Suit Specifications
Depth - 305 meters ( 1,000 feet)
Height - 112 cm ( 81.2 inches) adjustable
Weight - 378 Kgs ( 832 lbs)
Weight in water - 2 -4 kgs ( 4-8 lbs) flying mode
Hull - A356 Cast Aluminum
Thrusters - constant with variable pitch, two complete sets
Power - 2 x 2.25 hp at 400 Hz
Control - foot controls, left foot vertical control, right foot lateral control
Communication - digital voice/data, through water and hard wire
Life Support - 6-8 hours Reserve 48 hours, oxygen re-circulation with fan pwered CO2, back-up oral nasal lung powered emergency CO2 scrubber, dual independent Oxygen system - poert and starboard
Safety - tether cutter, emergency 37.5 kHz pinger, ballast jettison, xeon strobe, radio frquency beacon
Optional equipment - dual on suit video cameras, on suit colour imaging sonar, AMS suit monitor system, surface monitoring for CO2, HPO, O2 %, depth, temperature, cabin pressure.
Video of the Newt Suit
