Drowning is one of the most common causes of accidental death among small children (aged 1-4 years), with around 5,000 children drowning in Europe every year. This mostly happens in lakes and rivers, and parents’ supervision is not always a sufficient means of protection.
Now, a start-up company called Smartmedic and a team of researchers have developed Buddy the Life collar to prevent accidental drowning.
The collar prototype inflates once in contact with water and helps to keep the head of its wearer above the surface. The creation could prove vital for parents of young children, who are still not confident in water.
“Our smart life collar works similarly to that of an airbag in a car,” says Tadas Juknius, the inventor of the idea. “Once the sensor installed into the collar touches the water, it activates the release mechanism, which fully inflates the airbags in three seconds, and they lift the wearer into the surface of the water. The head of the swimmer is kept above the water and he or she cannot drown.
“The collar is put around a person’s neck and can be worn all the time, even in rain because the sensor has a rain protection quality. The sensor is electronic and is installed in front of the collar and it has to have direct contact to activate the full airbag inflation process.”
The collar inflates much slower than car airbags in order to not inflict any injury, but timely enough so that the child cannot take in a fatal amount of water. Additionally, the collar has an inner string which protects the child from suffocating. Ergonomic positioning of the air pillows also allows the head to remain in a stable position.
The first functioning prototype of Buddy was created by Juknius from Smartmedic, then a PhD student at KTU. Later, working together with researchers of KTU Faculty of Mechanical Engineering and Design, Valdas Grigaliūnas and Algis Karpavičius, Juknius developed and improved the prototype.
“The collar is made from plastic composites and the airbags are made from a very thin nylon fabric impregnated with a latex-like material to sustain the air inside,” says Juknius.
“The collar airbags contain about two to three litres of air in each, and the size is approximately 200 mm long and 100 mm in diameter of each airbag.”
All in all, the life collar weighs approximately 120 grams, the weight of a mobile phone. It is worn around the neck, and the accessory doesn’t restrict the movement of a child. What’s more, it is made from high-tech materials meant for long-term use.
“We have introduced our prototype in international fairs and received very positive reviews. The next stage is designing a prototype for mass production,” adds Kristina Judinė, head of Smartmedic, which is a commercialisation partner of Buddy, the life collar.
Juknius expects that Buddy will be available on Kickstarter in autumn 2019.
