Introduction
For years, surfers have relied on well-established forecasting tools like Surfline to predict wave conditions, significantly improving their ability to find high quality waves. Divers, similar to surfers, are incredibly sensitive to ocean conditions. In the optimal ocean conditions, a diver can experience magic underwater in calm crystal clear seas. On the other hand, it's equally likely for a diver to fear for their life, in turbid, choppy waters! Despite the criticality of ocean conditions for divers, planning a dive has historically involved a significant amount of guesswork. There were no tools specifically for divers.
Enter Lu‘uLive, the first app specifically for divers to assess ocean conditions before heading out. Our founder, Matthew Feeley, identified this gap when he started spearfishing. While attending the Ocean Engineering graduate program at University of Hawai‘i, he determined that the technology existed to build this app—it just needed a champion to lead the effort. He figured diving is an inherently dangerous activity, so it makes sense that divers have reliable resources to manage the risk posed by the uncertainty of ocean conditions.
Today, ocean enthusiasts across Oahu—including spearfishermen, scuba divers, freedivers, and snorkelers—depend on Lu‘uLive to check ocean conditions before heading out for a dive. This core purpose is summed up in our simple motto: “Why chance ‘em, when you can know”.
What is Lu‘uLive?
Lu‘uLive is a web app (mobile app coming soon) dedicated to helping divers safely select their dive sites using ocean data and live video streams. Divers and snorkelers of all experience levels can use the app to make informed decisions before leaving their home. You can find the following information on our site:
- Go/No-go recommendations at popular dive spots, now and in the future.
- SurfCams: live video streams to make a judgement call for yourself.
You can also save your favorite dive spots too, so that you can quickly check when you revisit the app. In the future, you can customize Lu‘uLive notifications settings to get alerted to optimal conditions at your favorite sites.
Here’s a post with more information about how Lu‘uLive collects and digests its data to provide diveability ratings.
A Growing Network of SurfCams
Lu‘uLive operates a rapidly expanding network of coastal cameras, known as SurfCams, across Oahu.
- The team has already deployed 7 live coastal cameras around the island.
- Lu‘uLive has exclusive access to a live video stream of the West Oahu coastline.
These continuous live video streams are free and provide the public with real-time visual data on coastal conditions.
Community Safety and Water Quality Monitoring
Lu‘uLive is much more than just a convenience for dive planning; it serves as a critical safety asset for the local community. The network's cameras run continuously, and they can detect real-time environmental changes and hazards.
In the aftermath of the Kona Low Storms, Electric Beach SurfCam captured footage of chocolate brown water at sunrise. The shocking scene was shared on Instagram, reaching 37K people, helping many beach patrons avoid countless potential infections. A few months later Storm Lala hit Hawai‘i. This time a Lu‘uLive SurfCam captured footage of brown water at Kewalo Pipe on the south shore of Oahu. We alerted the 10K people to that pollution as well. Shortly after, Hurricane Lowell rolled through, which brought more brown water to Shark’s Cove on the north shore. This was also picked up by a Lu‘uLive SurfCam, and the footage was distributed immediately. In a turbulent El Niño season in the Pacific, Lu‘uLive continues to capture early signs of water pollution and steer the community away from the affected areas.
These views have been critical to realtime tracking during recent storm events that have brought high surf, heavy rainfall and subsequent brown water to Oahu’s shores. Lu‘uLive’s cams operate 24/7, enabling the community to remotely access vantage points.
Vision: A Global Network of DiveCams and Underwater Visibility Algorithm
In pursuit of demystifying present and future underwater visibility at our favorite dive spots, Lu‘uLive has laid out a plan to collect vast quantities of ocean data in realtime. To do this, Lu‘uLive intends to deploy a global network of underwater cameras. This will enhance divers’ ability to evaluate underwater visibility directly. By identifying patterns between live camera footage and related ocean models, Lu‘uLive will develop a forward-looking visibility forecast. It would extrapolate historical patterns (i.e. visibility vs. wave height) on global oceanographic models, enabling a visibility model to be expanded to areas where there isn’t an underwater camera. This will be a novel data layer that has applications beyond diving.
As a positive consequence of live underwater cameras for visibility monitoring, other ocean data types can be simultaneously collected. For example, underwater cameras can assist with ecological monitoring activities, such as fish species tracking and coral bleaching events. Historically, monitoring these events has been hampered by insufficient data. Thankfully, underwater cameras provide a new avenue to data collection.
Conclusion
Whether you are a seasoned spearfisherman, a weekend snorkeler, or a local resident wanting to check beach conditions, Lu‘uLive provides the real-time insights you need. By replacing guesswork with reliable visibility forecasts and serving as an early warning system for coastal pollution, Lu‘uLive is quickly becoming an essential tool for Oahu's ocean community. We hope you plan your next dive with Lu‘uLive.