http://gizmodo.com/5655902/buoyant-life-aid-that-expands-to-40x-its-size-in-water-wins-dyson-award

A buoyancy aid from Australia has won this year's James Dyson Award, which battled alongside 14 amazing finalists. Made from hydrophobic foam which expands in the water, the Longreach aid can be fired 150m out to sea to save lives.

The winner designer, 24-year-old Samuel Adeloju, has been awarded £10,000 ($15,900) for himself, and another £10,000 for his engineering faculty at the University he graduated from in New South Wales.

Flares attached to the buoyancy aid would help the waterlogged person attract attention, and as the aid expands in the water to 40x its size (in just 15 seconds!), it's compact enough to store in even the smallest cupboards aboard a boat.