The thought of crashing and being stranded at sea is shit scary. Sure you could have a life jacket with you, but as you know, Jack Dawson from Titanic died in the water.

Ok. Fine. He didn't have a life jacket but the point is that he died from hypothermia.

So Kieran Normoyle, a design student in his final year, gave it plenty of thought - and came up with Hydros, a life jacket system made up of three different components. He imagined a better inflatable life jacket design that protects against shock and hypothermia from freezing temperatures.

Its core is a t-shirt featuring manually activated gel heat packs over the heart, carotid arteries, jugular veins and other vital areas, to keep the wearer's blood warm as it's pumped towards the brain. The heat packs can maintain temperature of 140 degrees Fahrenheit for up to eight hours, helping to fend off the effects of hypothermia.

A waterproof jacket works like a wet suit to trap body heat and provide extra insulation to further protect the wearer against frigid ocean temperatures. And finally, the Hydros includes a zip-up inflatable life vest with an innovative offset design that serves to keep the wearer face up - and it can automatically flip someone over to help prevent secondary drowning where liquid in the lungs can be fatal.

The Hydros seems to be better suited for passengers and crew with enough time to properly put the life jacket system on, so it might be impossible for it to be used in the event of a plane crash at sea. As for cruise ships and shipping vessels, this could be of great help to save lives in a disastrous event.

Check out how it works:



[James Dyson Award]