Kingii wants to prevent drownings with a wearable

Crowdfunded wearables have sometimes moved the market, and sometimes disappeared without a trace. Rarely, though, have they actually changed lives. Now Kingii wants to change that, by attempting to wipe out drownings, which result in 372,000 deaths a year, with a wearable. "Unfortunately, the Kingii team has a personal connection with drowning," the company's founder, Tom Agapiades, tells WIRED.co.uk. "A dear friend of ours drowned in a lake, and it could have been prevented. We don't want anyone to experience losing a loved one, especially when they can be saved."

Although the team admits there's no way of knowing how many people its proposed approach could save, Agapiades tells us "if Kingii could even help save a fraction" of the World Health Organisation's estimated 372,000 drowning deaths per year, "it would be a success".

The proposed solution is touted as "the world's smallest floatation device" and was designed by Agapiades. The wristband has a lever which, when pulled, triggers the "Kingii Cylinder" (a CO2 cartridge) which fills a small pouch, which in turn becomes the flotation device. The whole operation takes just one second to deploy. There's a whistle attached, and a built-in compass to help anyone lost at sea. It can be reused by taking off the cylinder, repacking the deflated pouch, and replacing with a new cylinder. "Other than the traditional life vest, there haven't been any other attempts [at tackling the problem]," says Agapiades. "While there are some devices that allow parents to monitor children in the water, Kingii is the only wearable that actually has floatation capabilities."

Trials have already been carried out among surfers, children, parents and lifeguards. "We are thinking about next generations which are more specified on the different target groups... [There were] no complaints about bulkiness," adds Agapiades. The latter, is of course key: Kingii points out in its campaign, "most drowning victims had a life jacket available and chose not to wear it". If the team could convince people, perhaps at least the most vulnerable swimmers, to wear a discreet device, it could be on to something big. "Kingii is the perfect alternative to life jackets for beginner and advanced swimmers of any age," said Agapiades. "Now, for those who would previously forgo wearing a life vest, they can have the same security without the restrictions or discomfort."

The Indiegogo campaign had been live for around an hour at the time of writing, and had already reached more than $400,000 -- 616 percent of its target goal. That cash will go into production, with a launch date set for September this year. The team decided to use Indiegogo to launch the product, to "build a community".

This article was originally published by WIRED UK