Wristband pool safety device could save children from drowning

Swiss innovation that raises an alarm when someone reaches a certain depth or is in the water too long is coming to swimming pools of the UAE.

The plastic bracelet sends distress signals to a receiver at the side of the pool if a wearer is under water for too long. Satish Kumar / The National

DUBAI // A new plastic wristband could help prevent children from drowning in UAE swimming pools, says its Swiss maker.

The Blue Fox, a monitoring bracelet available in Europe, China, Hong Kong and Australia, sends distress signals if the swimmer is under water for too long or reaches depths that prevent them from resurfacing.

The bracelet’s receiver makes it doubly effective as a safety measure as it triggers an alarm when someone falls into a pool, even if they are not wearing a wrist band.

“The wristband is a mini-computer that measures consistently the water depth and the time under water,” said Heinz Ruchti, chief executive of Blue Fox.

“It’s programmable; you can put 50 centimetres and 20 seconds and, as soon as that is exceeded, an ultrasonic sound is sent to the receiver. The problem with drowning is no one can hear or see it. Our device is helpful when someone starts drowning or is under water for too long.”

Mr Ruchti added that the pool safety device is also useful if someone accidentally falls into the water.

“If the pool is not in use, it automatically goes into passive mode and anything [falling in] above five kilograms [in weight] triggers an alarm. So if a neighbour’s kid or even a dog falls, it can set off an alarm.”

A Blue Fox kit comes with a receiver, bracelet and an alarm box. The receiver is placed inside the pool wall.

The cost varies depending on the size of the pool but it would cost a private villa owner with a small pool Dh7,000, while the price could vary from Dh20,000 to Dh200,000 for a school or hotel pool, depending on its size and the number of bracelets required.

The company is hoping to target schools, hotels and communities that have swimming pools.

Residents welcomed the new safety device but said it was no substitute for adult supervision.

“It is a good device that would help schools keep an eye on children,” said Sneh Sharma, who has two children aged 8 and 9.

“But it cannot, ultimately, substitute adult supervision or a coach. It can be used as an additional device to help monitor children but cannot be solely relied on to take care of children.”

Another resident said it would be a useful device in private pools, communities and schools.

“I would feel safer if our community had it,” said Rakhi Keni, who has a five-year-old daughter and lives in The Lakes. “It is a welcome device but I will still rely on the lifeguard supervising the child constantly.

“It could be useful when mothers have play dates near a pool and, if you are distracted and the alarm goes off, you know your child is in distress.”

The company’s local distributor hopes to lobby for a regulation to make such devices mandatory in public pools.

“We want to see if we can get a regulation to have something like this to be a part of the pool system,” said Ramesh Parameswaran, senior manager for water solutions at Bahri and Mazroei Trading Company, which markets the Blue Fox device in the UAE.

“We are trying to reach architects and consultants, schools with pools and hotels.”