Once again, what may seem science fiction becomes real. The concept itself is simple. Not all swimmers can be tossed a life-saving ring, so why not shoot it out of a bazooka? This was Samuel Adeljou's winning entry to the James Dyson Award, which won him 10,000 pounds ($15,890). The international design award encourages young people to come up with innovative designs to solve problems.
The Longreach Buoyancy Deployment System works like this: a bazooka-like device fires a condensed bullet of hydrophobic foam up to 150 metres away, at which point it deploys, expanding up to 40 times its original size within 15 seconds. The kit is designed for portability and ease of use in an emergency, and even includes easy-to-follow instructions. The device also carries two shots and can be reloaded quickly. It also includes Para-Flares in case of nighttime incidents.

The system will undergo field trials in Australia for the next few months.