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 Boaters may soon have a new safety device to carry aboard their vessels
thanks to an invention by G. Borlase of the National Security
Technology Department. Should a mariner get into trouble, Borlase’s
Automated Integrated Distress Device (AIDD)— developed through
Office of Technology Transfer independent research and development
funds — would automatically fire flares and flash a strobe to alert
boaters within an 8-mile radius that help is needed.
“Currently there’s no way to automatically
signal distress to other vessels
near your boat,” Borlase says. “You have
to manually fire a flare gun or send a
mayday message using your marine
radio — devices that might not be
accessible during an accident.”
A former naval architect with the
Coast Guard, Borlase has conducted
many maritime accident investigations.
His inspiration for AIDD came
after investigating the worst domestic
fishing vessel accident in the past 50
years. “When the Arctic Rose sank in
the Bering Sea in 2001, 15 people were
killed despite a partnering boat operating
nearby,” he says. “I’d like to think the
crew might have survived had the AIDD
been available.”
The Arctic Rose sank within minutes
in an area with spotty radio coverage,
Borlase says. Even though the crew’s
Emergency Positioning Indicator Radio
Beacon relayed a GPS signal through
channels that eventually reached the
Coast Guard, it was four hours before a
rescue plane reached the area. “There
was no sign of the boat or most of the
crew,” he says. “It was as if they had
fallen into a hole in the ocean.
“Commercial fishing in the U.S. is
one of the most dangerous professions,”
he says. “There’s a need for great improvement
in marine safety.” Convinced
he could apply his engineering talents to
this challenge, in 2003 Borlase sketched
the device on a napkin — and later
realized the concept while at APL. “It
took approximately a year-and-a-half to
go from concept to prototype,” he says.
“This IRAD project is an example of
how APL can help inventors realize their
ideas while, in this case, developing
a robust solution for a critical marinesafety
challenge that could one day save
lives,” says J. Bacon, OTT’s technology
manager for the device.
The Device
The AIDD is a cylindrically shaped,
waterproof device approximately 12
inches tall with a small beacon on one
end and a control switch on one side.
Aboard a vessel, the AIDD would be
mounted upside-down in a small metal
bracket with a hydrostatic release, and
stored in “automatic” mode. It would
be placed near a boat’s captain or pilot
house to be easily accessible when used
in “manual” mode to alert a nearby
rescue boat or helicopter. There’s also
a “test” mode to ensure the replaceable
lantern battery has enough power to
operate the AIDD in an emergency.
If a boat sinks to depths of 20-30 feet,
the hydrostatic release would automatically
cut a strap, allowing the device
to turn right-side up and float to the
surface, which would trigger a strobe to
continuously flash and flares to begin firing
in a timed sequence. As a precaution
to anyone near the device, a horn would
sound several seconds before any flares
were fired.
The prototype (initially tested on
APL’s pond in July) holds eight flares,
but Borlase says future units could house
different numbers of flares to meet Coast Guard requirements for various sizes
of recreational and commercial vessels.
The overall design could easily be
modified to incorporate an Emergency
Positioning Indicator Radio Beacon
— another safety device required for
most commercial and recreational boats
that venture far offshore.
The Lab’s Office of Technology Transfer
recently applied for patents for the
device, and is pursuing various licensing
opportunities.
Borlase is excited about the possibility
of his invention being used throughout
the maritime community. “If I read a
news story someday about how this
device helped save the lives of boaters,
it’s going to feel great,” he says. “I’ll feel
as if I’ve really made a significant
difference.” |
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