I and R Draft 2

In our project, the main aim is to increase the victim's survivability when he is trapped at sea. Based on the limitations we have identified, such as entrapment , hypothermia and visibility, we have come up with solutions to tackle each of them. However, I feel that the visibility problem has not yet been fully dealt with. As such, after much consideration, I have decided to implement a GPS device on the life vest to facilitate search parties in locating the victim. The main aim of this is to allow search parties lo locate the victim easily without having to search for them with their flashlights, especially at nighttimes, where the retro- reflective tape fails to do anything to enhance visibility to search parties. With the GPS attached inside the life - vest ( covered with waterproof material), it will allow search parties to pinpoint the exact coordinates of the victim and rush immediately to him, making search missions efficient and effective.
Another feature which I feel that will complement our project SALUS would be adding signal mirror to the life vest. This mirror will have a surface area of 1 square inch (6.5 square centimeters) reflecting flashes of sunlight that could be seen over a distance of 7 miles (11 kilometers) ( Coe,1993) Thus including one in the life vest to attract attention of nearby ships/aircraft may increase chances of rescue. The mirror is potentially visible 160 km away in right conditions. This feature solely serves to attract attention of search and rescue parties to the survivors.
In hindsight, I believe there is much room for improvement in our project. For example, we could have dedicated more time to the project to obtain more data for analysis. There were a few strategies which we could not implement due to the lack of time . To circumvent this, however, our group did enlist the help of classmates who were very receptive and enthusiastic about our project, and our pilot project was ultimately largely successful. Even so, in retrospect, have done to make sure the boundaries of current life- vest was pushed as far as possible. This would result in more improvements amended in our development of SALUS , leading to greater effectiveness of our project if implemented. In future, I would ensure that a detailed timeline is drawn during the planning stages for any project to estimate the time needed for an efficient and effective execution of projects.