Vancouver, Canada
The Problem: Two years ago, when Liam was in sixth grade, he fell into the ocean during a sailing lesson. Luckily, he was wearing a life jacket—but the water was super cold! Liam and his friend Fraser wanted to find a way to keep people warm during water emergencies.
Their Solution: They created LifeHeat, a life jacket that provides extra protection in cold water. For two years, they experimented with different levels of chemicals that heat up in water. At one point, they thought they had a working vest. But when they tested it in cold ocean water, they quickly overheated.
“It was a good sign that it worked,” Fraser says. “But it worked too well!”
After further testing, the boys now have a working prototype that they have shown to a local company. They hope to sell LifeHeat to the public soon.