At the Exhibition, from left
to right: Louise Crowe, Tara Rhatigan and
Michelle Egan.
When we decided to enter the BT Young Scientists & Technology Competition 2006 we had no idea what was ahead of us! The title of our project was "Swim Safe with an Automatic Inflate-A-Belt". We wanted to raise awareness to the amount of drowning accidents that occur because we felt it is a topic that not enough attention is given to. 409,272 die every year due to accidental drowning, which is four people every five minutes. Scary isn't it? Two thirds of drowning happens in shallow water, three metres from the shore. That is why we chose one metre as our reaction point in the jacket.
Our project is a life saving device that is suitable for both experienced and beginner swimmers. It operates on the principle that pressure increases with depth. When a swimmer gets into difficulty, they will start to sink in the water. When they reach a depth of one metre in the water, a sensitive spring will be released in our jacket which will trigger a secondary reaction inside the jacket. The spring allows water to flow into a tube containing a salt pellet at the end. The pellet dissolves because of the moisture which then causes a pin to pierce a gas cylinder and the jacket therefore inflates. The swimmer rises to safety and there is no long term damage done.
A close up of the lifesaving
trigger device.
There is an opinion out there that drowning involves a huge amount of screaming and activity but that is not the case�drowning is quite a silent process which makes it all the more dangerous. Our project would make the water a safer place for everyone from young children to fisherman. The Automatic Inflate-A-Belt is a lightweight device which is absolutely no hindrance to anyone who is wearing it. We are really glad we got the opportunity to raise awareness to the dangers of the water and doing Young Scientists was definitely an experience that none of us will ever forget. We would recommend anyone with an interest in science to partake in the event�.you won't regret it!
Tara Rhatigan, Michelle Egan, and Louise Crowe, from the Ursuline Secondary School, Thurles, Co Tipperary, entered their project in the Intemediate Group Section in the Technology Category at the BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition in January 2006. They won a Special Award sponsored by the Marine Institute. Their teacher was Michael English.
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This article was sponsored by the Marine Institute
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