Building a Kayak Safety Beacon

I am working on a kayak safety beacon, and I will periodically post updates on this blog post.

Product Idea:

The product idea is a small bluetooth-enabled emergency relay. The primary use case is kayaking, where the user will not want to remove their phone from a secure dry bag, especially in an emergency or rough conditions. The product can pair with a phone and application to perform a number of functions:

+Real time location tracking

+Accelerometer sensor can monitor motions that could be concerning (overturning in a watercraft, falling, etc.)

+Screen can display text messages received so the user doesn’t have to go through dry bag

+The ability to provide alerts of increasing severity (“step up” signals) to other devices

+Immediate SOS Beacon Alerts

+Can be programmed to sense water immersion

+An accompanying app to provide intuitive set-up guidance

+Personal safety alarm for non-water sport activities

Features:

+Waterproof and Rugged Construction

-IPX7 waterproof rating, protecting it against water immersion for 30 minutes at a 1-meter depth

-High-impact ABS plastic with a molded-rubber perimeter

+Bright LED lights around perimeter to signal information to user

-One side of flashing LED meets USCG requirements of 1 nautical mile visibility for a minimum of three hours

+Rechargeable lithium ion battery

+Optimized for minimal battery consumption

-“Sleepable” ESP32 Chip

+Large loop holes to accommodate straps to securely affix to kayak or other mountings

+Simple 3-button input and screen interface

Related and Non-Emergency functionality:

+Water immersion detection

+Bluetooth camera shutter remote control

+Expedition Journey Tracking

The idea is that you could mount this waterproof beacon on the deck on your kayak. The beacon would pair with your phone via Bluetooth. In passive mode, the phone-based app could track location and transmit this information to others. The beacon is equipped with a motion sensor that could detect a rollover. Once a rollover is detected, the app can then start to sense for signs of struggle and broadcast all this information to other users. The app can also automatically send an alert and/or be programmed to send an alert once a button on the beacon is pressed by the kayaker.

The beacon allows the kayaker to easily interact with the phone-based app's functionality without having to remove the phone from a secure, watertight location.

The idea is that solo-kayakers can have an extra layer of safety by allowing other people to monitor their journey, detect signs of distress and avoid exposing your phone to water damage.

3D-Printed "Looks-Like" Prototypes

Right now, the app is being prototyped in Android Studio using Kotlin & Java. The beacon is being prototyped on a Micro:Bit controller and Arduino. The beacon will ultimately be programmed with javascript on an ESP-32 micro-chip or ARDUINO NANO 33 BLE; however, these specs are subject to evolve.

I made a YouTube video that provides a basic overview of the app idea. The user interface is not polished or ready for launch; it is only meant to demonstrate functionality.

Here is a short two minute overview:

Here is a longer discussion of the same thing:

To develop this prototype, I switched to an Arduino Nano 33 BLE Board: