So says Dr Phil Nuytten, inventor of sub sea submersibles and the NewtSuit, a deep-sea hard suit employing break through technology that allow scientists to walk the bottom of the ocean in one-bar atmosphere with a freedom and range of movement unsurpassed by other devices. With over 40 years devoted to sub sea technology, Phil is fulfilling his goal to provide scientific, military, technical and sport divers unlimited access to continental shelf depths without decompression hazards. In this way, he hopes humanity can explore, investigate and ultimately become better guardians of our oceans.

When rays meet newts
X-RAY MAG visited Phil at his workshop in Vancouver and received a tour of the facility and his inventions by the man himself. Famous rigs that have done incredible
things are lying around the place like lounge lizards….
rigs such as the micro-submersible Deep Worker, the revolutionary deep-diving system that transports scientists from National Geographic programs and deep sea explorer, Dr Sylvia Earle, for her Sustainable Seas programs, to the bottom of the sea to investigate environmental impact in the deep ocean. The unit has been affectionately tagged the “underwater sports car” and was used in a contract to recover the Space Shuttle booster rockets for NASA from the sea floor.

Then there were Deep Rover, Deep Flyer, Aquarius, Sea Otter and the revolutionary Exosuit, which stood in the front office welcoming us to the fantastic world of all things Nuytten. Exosuit, introduced by Nuytco in 2000, is a radical concept in lightweight atmospheric dive suits. The team is now investigating whether it can serve as submarine escape device for the Canadian Department of National Defence.

What was the most interesting part of the conversation with Phil was what he said about the fragility of the human body, which can only exist in the small slice of the biosphere, and how we need all these prosthesis, such as airplanes and underground tunnels, to exist in other areas.