San Leandro, CA - Oceanic Worldwide, manufacturer of cutting-edge SCUBA equipment and technology, announces that its HUD (Heads-Up Display) Mask has received the annual "Best of What's New" award in the Recreation category from Popular Science magazine. Popular Science editors reviewed thousands of new products and innovations and chose just 100 winners in 10 categories for inclusion in the December "Best of What's New" issue. To win, a product or technology must represent a significant step forward in its category.

The HUD project was conducted under a joint-development project with the U.S. Navy's Coastal Systems Station (CSS) - Panama City, Florida. The HUD contains a miniature liquid crystal display (LCD) panel, multi-element optics, microprocessor, depth transducer, wireless cylinder pressure receiver, diver replaceable battery, and controlling software - all built directly into a dive mask. The miniature LCD displays the diver's depth, bottom time, and cylinder pressure. The multi-element optical lens provides a clear, highly magnified image of the LCD, which is viewable regardless of environmental conditions.

Oceanic's wireless transmitter module attaches to the regulator first stage and transmits the diver's cylinder pressure to the mask.

"We are extremely honored to receive such a prestigious recognition from the renowned editors of Popular Science. This award confirms the results of our consumer retail tests conducted this year, and further emphasizes Oceanic's ability to revolutionize exploring the underwater world as we know it today", said Robert Hollis, founder and CEO of Oceanic Worldwide. "To be a leader, you have to look at new and innovative ways to develop the cutting edge technology today's divers demand. By jointly developing new technologies and electronic features with the US Navy, Oceanic is continuing to build our position as the leader in the creation of new product innovations that are used to strengthen the recreational scuba diving industry."

While the HUD Mask will have immediate military applications, recreational divers will also benefit from this jointly created technology as Oceanic plans to release a consumer version next year. Oceanic engineers anticipate the consumer version will feature all the information currently displayed in Oceanic's line of innovative hand-held and wireless Personal Dive Computers.

This is not the first time Oceanic has teamed up with a government agency to jointly develop technology that has resulted in new products for recreational divers. Several years ago, Oceanic engineers were part of a team working with NASA on wireless communications used in underwater astronaut training. That technology resulted in the creation of Oceanic's well-known DataTrans (wireless Personal Dive Computer), one of the first such products released to the dive market.

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