::  Electrical Construction:

In order to construct the electrical components of the design, each component of the design was addressed separately.

1.       Firstly the Sonar system was designed, fabricated and tuned to send and receive sonar signals coupled at 40kHz.

2.       A heart rate monitor was then tested to track heart beat.

3.       A PCB was designed and fabricated to centralize all the processing for the sensors.

All the electrical components were then integrated in the following order:

1.       The PCB was integrated with the heart rate monitor to detect a drowning event. The rate of decrease was used as the deciding factor for the event.

2.       If the drowning event was detected, the sender for the Sonar was energized.

3.       Once a signal was received by the receiver, the motor for the mechanical components was energized to release the floatation device.

:: Mechanical Construction:

A pool was initially designed, fabricated, and tested to act as the testing medium for the project. The pool was constructed out of wood, and was made waterproof by caulking all the edges and painting it with Marine paint.

The locking mechanism for the flotation device was designed and fabricated. Several mechanisms were tested for this purpose to eliminate any safety concerns with an energized mechanism under water. The final mechanism was based on the principle of ‘easy snap and release’.

The locking mechanism was then coupled with several pulleys and connected to a motor to energize the release and locking of the flotation device.