Each year about 400 children drown in residential swimming pools in the U.S. and Canada, in most cases in their own family pool. The Safety Turtle alarm system, developed by Terrapin Communications Inc. of Ottawa, Ontario, is helping to reduce this number by alerting parents the moment a child falls into a pool.

The idea behind this innovative alarm system seems simple enough, but the Safety Turtle is the product of two years of research and development (R&D). The biggest challenge was designing a product that exposed the combined sensor and antenna to water but protected the hardware, software and battery. The product had to work the instant a child hit the water of a pool, but not when she or he was running through a sprinkler or out in the rain. It also had to resist interference from common household electronic products, and respond to signals from several children in a specific pool but not from every pool on the block.

The alarm system consists of a base station and one or more wristbands worn by young children. The wristband, designed in the shape of a turtle, instantly detects immersion in water and sends a radio signal to the base station. The base station then sounds a loud and distinct alarm, immediately alerting parents. "It's not a gimmick or a toy. It's really solid and demanding from a technical standpoint," notes Bob Lyons, President of Terrapin Communications.

The innovative product was conceived when a friend of Bob Lyons almost lost a child in a swimming pool accident. "The child had gotten under a pool cover, and they didn't realize she was there for 15 or 20 minutes," he says.

The investment and R&D that led to the creation of the Safety Turtle paid off. It is the only safety device on the market that protects children from water accidents by sounding an alarm the instant the child falls or ventures into the water.

Terrapin Communications was assisted in the development of the technology by the National Research Council Canada's Industrial Research Assistance Program. But once the company had developed this innovative technology, it had to incorporate it into a consumer-friendly product that would appeal to young children and parents. Terrapin Communications looked for outside expertise for the product design phase. Gibson Product Design and Ridgeway Research Corporation both assisted the company in preparing and developing the product for the market.

Since 1998, the Safety Turtle alarm system has been sold at pool and spa stores in Canada and the U.S., and was recently introduced in Australia and Latin America. Building on its success, ... . The unique product has gained industry recognition, and is currently on display at the Innovation Canada exhibit of the Canada Science and Technology Museum in Ottawa.