Description
According to the International Life Saving Federation around 1.2 million people around the world die by drowning every year, that is more than two persons per minute and 50 percent are children. The majority of these drownings occur in open water and many could be prevented through the adoption of appropriate life saving equipment. Certain professions carry an additional risk of drowning: fishing, oil and gas off shore workers, merchant navy, cruise operators, armed forces and leisure boat industry participants.
One of the most effective ways to reduce this number of drowning fatalities is to ensure that victims are rescued promptly and that they are able to keep their 'heads above water' whilst the rescue is executed. This is achieved through utilising life jackets and locator beacons.
Currently life jackets and locator beacons are two distinct units. Whilst life jacket technology has undergone dramatic evolution in recent years, locator beacons remain relatively bulky devices with inherent difficulties around effective deployment. To elaborate, current locator beacons run the risk of simply being forgotten or left behind, they are still relatively large and cumbersome, many rely on manual deployment of the antenna which can be difficult in an emergency situation or where the wearer is a child or has suffered an injury and beacon antennas are not always effective in harsh environments such as stormy seas.
A collaboration between Spinlock and Antrum has resulted in a integration and improvement of these two vital life saving technologies: the life jacket and the beacon antenna. Spinlock's sophisticated life jackets incorporate a spray hood which, under normal circumstances, is folded back into the collar of the jacket. In an emergency situation, the hood is pulled forward to cover the head and face thus protecting the wearer's face from being buffeted by the water and the wearer suffering so called 'secondary drowning' from inadvertently swallowing water. In this project a beacon antenna is integrated into the protective spray hood of the life jacket and which is connectable to a designated PLB. This PLB may either be carried by the wearer or embedded into the body of the lifejacket in miniaturised form.
