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Where Water Safety Meets Technology

AquaAlert is an innovative waterproof multisensor wearable device that helps caregivers keep watch on where their adventurous child is, while allowing the child to explore his/her aquatic environment with greater liberty. Designed to alert both the child and caregiver at the perimeters of customized safety zones, AquaAlert empowers a safer and more enjoyable aquatic experience for all involved.

Timeline

January - April 2026

Challenge

Crowded places such as pools or lakes can make it difficult to watch a child at all times. It may be necessary to watch several children, move through the crowd, carry things, and more all while being distracted by the shifting water. A moment's loss of focus can lead to panic and worry

Solution

AquaAlert is a waterproof connected wearable system that keeps caregivers connected to their kids in aquatic environments.

Customizable safety perimeter notifications ensure that kids stay within safe boundaries.

Child wristbands alert kids with vibration, light, and sound when approaching or crossing their virtual safety perimeter while caregiver devices notify users with vibration, sound, light, and mobile alerts.

With AquaAlert, kids can explore the water with confidence while parents and caregivers can have peace of mind.

Process

Research & Analysis: Children can get into dangerous situations if they are not aware of the potential risks. Therefore, caregivers need immediate and clear information about the breach of any limits, and children need simple and intuitive feedback to know that it is time to return. The results emphasize the importance of early warning, rapid information exchange, and multi-sensory feedback.

The Solution:

AquaAlert is a wearable device for children and caregivers. It features a child wristband and a caregiver wristband. These two devices are connected to each other.

How It Works

  1. Set a Care Zone

    Caregivers can set a zone depending on their location.

  2. Keep Track of Distance

    Using Bluetooth sensors, the distance between the child and caregiver is kept track of.

  3. Out of Zone Alert

    When the child goes out of the set zone, the alert is sent to both the caregiver and the child.

  4. Child and Caregiver Notification

    The child is notified to come back and the caregiver is also alerted.

Wireframing & Prototyping: Our prototype utilized a silicon wristband, vibration motor, LED lights, and a speaker connected via Bluetooth to an Arduino to test the comfort, functionality, and immediate multisensory feedback when the user went beyond a set distance.

Future Development:

Next, we would:

  • Improve location-detection accuracy

  • Test the device in real aquatic environments

  • Develop a fully waterproof prototype

  • Evaluate how children understand the alerts

  • Test how caregivers respond to notifications

  • Explore water-depth detection

  • Investigate crowd-density monitoring

  • Test the system with multiple children

Research & Analysis: Children can get into dangerous situations if they are not aware of the potential risks. Therefore, caregivers need immediate and clear information about the breach of any limits, and children need simple and intuitive feedback to know that it is time to return. The results emphasize the importance of early warning, rapid information exchange, and multi-sensory feedback.

The Solution:

AquaAlert is a wearable device for children and caregivers. It features a child wristband and a caregiver wristband. These two devices are connected to each other.

How It Works

  1. Set a Care Zone

    Caregivers can set a zone depending on their location.

  2. Keep Track of Distance

    Using Bluetooth sensors, the distance between the child and caregiver is kept track of.

  3. Out of Zone Alert

    When the child goes out of the set zone, the alert is sent to both the caregiver and the child.

  4. Child and Caregiver Notification

    The child is notified to come back and the caregiver is also alerted.

Wireframing & Prototyping: Our prototype utilized a silicon wristband, vibration motor, LED lights, and a speaker connected via Bluetooth to an Arduino to test the comfort, functionality, and immediate multisensory feedback when the user went beyond a set distance.

Future Development:

Next, we would:

  • Improve location-detection accuracy

  • Test the device in real aquatic environments

  • Develop a fully waterproof prototype

  • Evaluate how children understand the alerts

  • Test how caregivers respond to notifications

  • Explore water-depth detection

  • Investigate crowd-density monitoring

  • Test the system with multiple children

Our Arduino boards to power the vibration motor, the LED lights and the Bluetooth function.

Conclusion

AquaAlert is a brilliant example of how smart devices can make the lives of people leading adventurous lives safer. It provides flexible safety by giving warnings in real-time, which allows caregivers to stay in control while giving the child under their care more freedom. The project is a lesson in making life-saving devices intuitive and useful to people.

LinkedIn

karenyim28@gmail.com

Karen Yim

LinkedIn

karenyim28@gmail.com

Karen Yim