Flashing seamen

An engineer at The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Lauder, Maryland, has invented a safety device for sailors to automatically alert other boats to when help is needed.

If a boat is in distress, George Borlase’s Automated Integrated Distress Device (AIDD) automatically fires flares and flashes a strobe light to notify other boats within a 15km radius.

‘Currently there’s no way to automatically signal distress to other vessels near your boat,’ said Borlase. ‘You have to manually fire a flare gun or send a mayday message using your marine radio–devices that might not be accessible in a marine accident.’

The AIDD is a cylindrical, waterproof device approximately 30cm tall with a small beacon on one end and a control switch on one side. The AIDD would be installed on the boat in a small metal bracket with a hydrostatic release and stored in ‘automatic’ mode. There is also a ‘manual’ mode to allow sailors to alert nearby rescue boats or helicopters.