Young inventor duo

This T-shirt is designed to save children’s lives

The T-shirt is equipped with sensors that sound if the child falls into the water.(Bild: AirMate)

After witnessing a four-year-old child drown in the Feldkirchen swimming lake, two young Upper Austrians invented a T-shirt for children that inflates automatically when they fall into the water. After several years of development, the shirt is now ready.

"We are both volunteer firefighters and witnessed the drowning of a four-year-old girl in our area of operation" - Christopher Brummayer (29) told the "Krone" newspaper last summer. This tragic accident was the reason why he and his business partner Melissa Leibetseder, both from Feldkirchen an der Donau, invented a T-shirt designed to save children's lives - after several years of development, the product is now ready.

FH student Christopher Brummayer (29) founded the start-up together with his business partner Melissa Leibetseder.(Bild: Einöder Horst)

Inflated in five seconds
And here's how the two-sensor-equipped bib, called AirMate, works: "If the child is splashing around or splashing in shallow water, nothing happens. But if the chest is fully submerged, the T-shirt is inflated within five seconds, brings the child back to the surface and rotates it onto its back," explains Brummayer.

The invention from Upper Austria can already be pre-ordered - a T-shirt including sensor system costs 199 euros - but will not be delivered until the beginning of 2025. Until then, a complex certification process is still underway because it is a sensitive product.

Up to five fatal swimming accidents
From classic water wings to watches that sound an alarm when they come into contact with water, there are already other aids to protect children. Statistics show that they are necessary: up to five children drown nationwide every year.

The Road Safety Board recommends securing pools, biotopes and swimming ponds with a fence, for example, and always supervising small children near bodies of water.