Some drowning incidents can be easily prevented, and a wearable device wants to keep tabs on submersion time while your kids are at the pool. The iSwimband is a Bluetooth-enabled sensor that syncs up with an iOS device to alert you when that little one has been under water for too long. The gadget clips to goggles, swim caps, or can be worn with the included headband for a highly fashionable look. There’s a wristworn option too, so you can get pinged when the smallest of tikes accidentally enters the water. You know, if you have to step away while little Bobby is hanging out poolside, or you lose sight of Susie at the lake.
Even under some form of supervision, young ones can and do drown in swimming pools and lakes. The iSwimband wearable sensor is designed to minimize these dangers by triggering an alarm on a paired iOS device when submerged for a dangerous length of time. Aquatic Safety Concepts unveiled the iSwimband at CES earlier this year and has now started shipping to cautious parents and carers around the globe. The idea for the device was born out of the tragic death of a 9-year-old boy in Connecticut, which left three local fathers bewildered as to how such events can occur, especially in the presence of lifeguards and supervisors. In the 8 years since, the team tapped into the knowledge of various experts, technologists, designers and engineers to develop iSwimband, a device that’s hoped will prove a useful means of drowning detection and prevention. While it is certainly no substitute for proper supervision and education around water safety, it may just prove helpful in those scenarios where every second can be critical. Similar to the SealBand (which we’ve covered previously), iSwimband is worn as either a headband or wristband and uses a built-in sensor to detect when it has been submerged for a user-definable length of time. If this threshold is reached, it sends an alert to a companion iOS app over Bluetooth up to 100 ft (30 m) away (depending on environmental conditions). Up to eight bands can be monitored from the one smart device via the app, each can be assigned names, preferences and different time limits.
