Lifesaver shoots a winner

UNSW industrial design graduate Sam Adeloju has won a silver medal in the country's premier student design awards for a lifesaving device with truly far-reaching capabilities.

Sam's Longreach buoyancy deployment system, a device that fires a floatation aid to a person at risk of drowning, has taken out second place in the 2010 James Dyson Awards amid tough competition from the nation's smartest up-and-coming designers.

The 23-year-old, who graduated from the Faculty of Built Environment last year, said he was encouraged by the award organisers' enthusiastic response to the Longreach.

"They said it was an innovative and very practical design that had great potential to protect people and save lives," he said.

Sam developed the idea for the Longreach, which can be safely fired over a long distance as a soft, expandable projectile to someone drowning at sea, after seeing hi-tech grenade propulsion technology during training with the Army Reserves.

He is now seeking to further develop the Longreach and take it into production.

UNSW Media Office: Peter Trute | 02 9385 1933 | p.trute@unsw.edu.au