You love cooling off in the water during the summer. But sadly, water can be a serious hazard for children, older adults, and even water sports enthusiasts. The creators of the Wuanap Smart Life Collar offer a solution. This smart collar can detect when you're in trouble and inflate to support your head, even if you're immobile or unconscious.

It’s summer and, whenever you can, you’re chilling in the pool or relaxing at the beach. But if have young children, are a watersport fiend, or not such a confident swimmer, you know that the water presents dangers. According to the CDC, about 10 people lose their lives to unintentional drowning every day. But this useful product, the Wuanap Smart Life Collar, hopes to change that. This smart collar can keep people of any age afloat, even if they’re unconscious.

The Wuanap Smart Life Collar looks like a sporty choker, but its use is far from just cosmetic. This smart collar is equipped with a motherboard that has programmed sensors and can detect when a wearer is in a dangerous situation. The sensors then cause the band to inflate, keeping the wearer’s head afloat so that he or she can continue breathing. It’s the perfect beach accessory for seniors and can help parents relax when their kids are swimming.

Wuanap Smart Life Collar
Wuanap Smart Life Collar on a Man in the Sand
Wuanap Smart Life Collar
Wuanap Smart Life Collar

How does the motherboard work?

The motherboard on this smart collar has state-of-the-art sensors and is coordinated by a complex algorithm. When the sensors detect a dangerous situation, the collar inflates in a fraction of a second. The floatation device itself has a fail-proof, non-slip design that keeps the wearer’s nose and mouth above water. Even if you’re unconscious. Sound pretty cool, no? So with a gadget like this, you won’t have to worry about grandma or grandpa going for a solo swim during your family trip to the beach, or your kids playing next to the pool.

How effective is this inflatable collar?

Wuanap’s creator designed this gadget for use in pretty much any water sport, except scuba diving. For this reason, it’s more effective than a life jacket because it allows the wearer a full range of mobility. And since more people can wear it during sports than a life jacket, it can get more use.

Wuanap Smart Life Collar

Wuanap Smart Life Collar on a Man in the Ocean

Who can wear this life-saving device?

This smart collar fits everyone, from kids ages three and up. The collars increase in sizes by 3 cm increments, from 26 cm up to 50 cm. So everyone in the family can wear a Wuanap, even the smallest members. For parents of small children, this is a relief. Finally, there’s a device that you can literally strap onto your child to keep them safe around water. This will allow you (a bit) of time to actually enjoy the beach for once. And, of course, it fits older children, teens, and adults, too.

Wuanap Smart Life Collar

Wuanap Smart Life Collar on a Man in a Pool

Can this water gadget help, even if you’re unconscious?

Yes. According to the company’s Indiegogo page, when you become unconscious underwater, your brain prevents you from inhaling water for 10 to 40 seconds. Within five seconds of losing consciousness, however, Wuanap will push your head above water, allowing you to breathe and regain your consciousness without needing to be revived. This will also happen whenever the device detects that you’ve become immobile, are having a panic attack or seizure, or if you’ve held your breath for longer than you’ve programmed. Now that’s a smart wearable!

Wuanap Smart Life Collar

Wuanap Smart Life Collar on a Man Outdoors

Can I activate this inflatable collar manually?

Of course, there are ways you can activate the Wuanap on your own. Press the panic button for two seconds, and the collar will inflate. Otherwise, if your arms and hands are trapped, just scream underwater. The smart collar will activate in less than a second and bring you to the surface, which is another cool feature.

Wuanap Smart Life Collar

Wuanap Smart Life Collar on Kids

What does the activity tracker do?

But this wearable device doesn’t just serve safety purposes. It can also track your activity via the connected app during sports like surfing, windsurfing, kitesurfing, wakeboarding, swimming, sailing, kayaking, and much more. So you can see how far you paddled and swam, as well as how many waves you caught. You can also get data on your strokes, see how long you spent diving, and more. The app also lets you communicate with friends and family members when active.

Wuanap Smart Life Collar

Wuanap Smart Life Collar on a Man in the Water

How do the emergency alerts work?

Whenever this smart collar activates, the device will emit a Bluetooth 5.0 signal to all nearby Wuanap users—this includes friends and anonymous users. The signal travels in a range of 50 meters, but the collars also act as repeaters. This allows the signal to have a much larger amplitude. The company is working on making the signal reach the app, which could be installed on devices of lifeguards, rescue teams, and water sports instructors.

I think this is an excellent product that will help a lot of parents, water sports enthusiasts, and family members of elderly swimmers feel more confident about trips to the pool or ocean. Swimming and other watersports are great, healthy activities. Still, you’ve got to take precautions because water can be dangerous if you become injured, experience breathing issues, or don’t swim that well. Would I buy a few of these bands for my kids? Totally. And myself? Yes.

Wuanap Smart Life Collars cost $93.83, and you can preorder them on Indiegogo.

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Meet Lauren Wadowsky

Lauren has been writing and editing since 2008. She loves working with text and helping writers find their voice. When she's not typing away at her computer, she cooks and travels with her husband and two daughters.