Remote controlled lifesaver helps keep rescue crews safe

Portugal’s Noras Performance introduced the U-safe, a battery-operated, remote-controlled lifesaving buoy strong enough to carry a person to safety.

Lightweight yet strong enough to carry a person to safety, Portugese company Noras Perfomance’s U-safe is a u-shaped, remote-controlled lifesaving buoy. The u-shape and two sets of handles makes it easy for the person being rescued to grab and hang on. And with time a crucial element in any rescue situation, the U-safe has been designed to be quick and easy for rescuers to throw into the water.

Once the buoy is in the water, rescuers can direct it with a simple game-style remote control thumbstick. The battery powered buoy is fast and strong, able to maintain direction even in bad weather and rough water. Once it has reached the person in distress, rescuers can direct it back to the boat or other safe place. Use of the U-safe could help keep rescue teams safer, as well as providing swifter safety for anyone in the water. Although not yet available, Noras Performance says the U-safe is coming shortly and has filed a patent for the design.

Using new materials to update traditional safety products and materials could be a quick way to save more lives. For those on the water, two new life jackets have recently been invented. This app-connected life jacket tracks a wearer’s location, and this life jacket shirt auto-inflates when the wearer hits the water. What areas of health and safety have yet to be improved through innovation?