Floaty

Photo Courtesy: Steve McCurry ( Tailor carrying his sewing machine, Porbandar, India, 1983 )

Floaty /ˈfləʊti/

why :

To minimize vulnerability to floods and consequent loss of lives.

Team Sumeet Singh Mrunmayee Wadekar Nimish Nerlekar Guided By Prof.Dhimant Panchal Associate Prof. Samson Mathai Asst. Prof. Samrudha Dixit Course Design for Special / Social Needs MIT INSTITUTE OF DESIGN, PUNE

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Context

Scenario: Preparing for a flood and you have to evacuate to a safer location. People have to carry at least three day supply of food, water and essential belongings.

Problem Identification: Emergency tools including an analog radio, flashlight and batteries, essential belongings. Due to the time constraint and unavailability of storage units it's difficult to carry heavy baggage and walk through the flood. That’s where the product comes into the picture.

how :

To enable safety and portability of personal belongings while navigating to safer ground during a flood.

Water intensity : >0.2-0.5 M/s Depth of water : 4-5 feet above the ground Weight the bag can carry : 6-8 kgs Diameter of the top lid : 20 inches Diameter of the inflated ring : 45 inches Weight of the ring : 2.5 Kg

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Parts and Components

Lid

Polyethylene

Storage

Polyethylene

Ring Buoy Polyethylene

Rope

Nylon

Carabiner Hook

Fabric: Expands and stretches to take the shape of the objects it carries.

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Material: Polycarbonate polyurethane in the coating

Radium photoluminescent tape that glows in the dark, is self adhesive.

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Material : PET layer

Handle : To carry the bag once the conditions are favourable •

Material : HDPE

Design Details Steps to use the product •

After opening the lid the fabric at the bottom appears compressed and as you add objects to the bag it stretches out due to the expandable material.

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Anything and everything at the maximum size of the lid will easily fit inside the bag.

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It takes the shape of whatever it contains. The lid fits tightly back on and won’t get disrupted in severe flood currents.

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The rope made up of polyethylene is attached to the buoy directly, along with a waist/ shoulder band and a carabiner which will hook onto anything.

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Hence the person does not need to carry or hold the bag, it will float in the direction of the person / surface it is attached to.

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Once the victim finds a raft or rescue boat, they can attach it to any surface and let it float, avoiding the unnecessary consumption of space on the raft.

USP •

Lightweight material

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Easily portable

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Less storage space consumed

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Stackable

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Zero maintenance required

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Easy on the wallet

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Bright orange color for enhanced visibility

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