Roke tracking device for lifejackets
The UK’s engineering R&D company, Roke Manor Research Ltd, has developed AGITATE, a self charging miniaturised tracking device for lifejackets to lower costs of monitoring and regulating man overboard lifejackets.
When shaken, AGITATE, which requires no battery, converts mechanical energy into radio pulses that can be tracked through walls and up to 20km in built up areas, with an estimated range of 200km in free space.
Roke says it could deliver a low cost method of monitoring and regulating the use of lifejackets, with built in man-overboard capability.
“As with many of the best inventions, AGITATE was developed by accident,” Peter Lockhart, future technology manager for Roke said. “But thanks to their [research and design team] highly inventive and creative minds, they recognised a potential application and have brought that to fruition, developing a simple yet highly usable technology.”
Roke’s research and design team has already completed UK trials across 26km of variable terrain.
The device is currently the size of a five pence piece. Further work will be focused on reducing the size of AGITATE and increasing radio frequency output power to track at great distances.
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