In less than a week, , an air bag you wear on your wrist to save you from drowning, on Indiegogo.
The idea behind the device is simple. Kingii鈥攏amed for the frilled-neck lizard Chlamydosaurus kingii, which puffs a fringe of skin below its head when facing a predator鈥攊s basically a bracelet with a capsule and an oversized CO2 canister attached to it. The capsule holds a folded聽square life preserver that鈥檚 about the size of a basketball when inflated and聽scrunches down to the size of small energy bar.聽
If you鈥檙e in trouble in the water, pull a lever on the back of the cylindrical housing to crack the seal on the CO2 canister and inflate the Kingii balloon. According to the company, the bright-orange balloon聽will stay inflated for up to 48 hours. Restuffing the preserver looks pretty straightforward聽if you have some patience and origami skills. The unit also has a built-in whistle and a compass.聽
You have to use Kingii鈥檚 oversized CO2 canister, which gives the balloon enough buoyancy to lift a 275-pound person above the waterline. That鈥檚 great, but probably overkill for kids and plenty of smaller adults. It also means you鈥檙e stuck using the company鈥檚 proprietary cartridge, making it more difficult to replace.聽
One feature we鈥檇 like to see? An auto-inflate function in case the wearer loses consciousness.
Still, we understand why the Indiegogo campaign has done so well, because for $69, this tech could buy you enough time for help to arrive.聽
Kingii says it鈥檒l begin production in August,聽and early funders will get their wristbands in September.