UNSW Industrial Design student Sam Adeloju’s Longreach Water Rescue System won this year’s James Dyson Award, surpassing the Minotaur Fire Nozzle System, Copenhagen Wheel, and Move-it cardboard hand cart for the £20,000 prize (~$32,000 split equally between the maker and their University.). [via /.]

Longreach is a man-portable system that allows for the rapid conveyance of temporary, water-activated buoyancy devices to a drowning victim’s location. It is designed to allow a victim to remain buoyant while rescue personnel prepare the appropriate response to the situation. The rescue package uses hydrophobic or rapidly expanding foam to provide buoyancy once the package contacts the water. This allows the package to be vastly smaller in size than any currently existing buoyancy device. Equipped with a light for attracting attention the Rescue Package can be propelled over 150m. Longreach is also equipped with Para-Flares for night-time Illumination. Longreach is designed to be simple to manufacture and easy to handle. Ideally used by emergency services personnel or a ship’s crew, Longreach has the potential to significantly reduce the number of drownings at sea.