Necklace puffs up to save lives

Swimmers can avoid the risk of drowning by inflating the air bag.

The Ploota necklace can detect an emergency and swell like an airbag to save a swimmer, Longwood said. When the person wearing the underwater ring for 30 seconds, the device will pump carbon dioxide gas in the canister attached to the float, help the person floating in the water.

Picture 1 of Necklace puffs up to save lives
Ploota necklace is especially for children and people who are at risk of slipping in the bathroom.

Rainer Fakesch, the founder of the Ploota company in Mannheim, Germany, came up with the idea of designing a ring after an accident while swimming in a family vacation. "A member of my family almost drowned because I did not appreciate the water," says Fakesch, "snowboarding, driving, mountain biking are all protective devices except swimming."

Fakesch started the prototype in 2015 and hopes to create the world's first sensor-controlled airbags.

Ploota necklace is especially for children and people who are at risk of slipping in the bathroom. Drowning is the leading cause of death in children under 15 years of age. Each year, more than 140,000 people drown in the world.


Ploota necklace inflated when the swimmer discovered the accident.