This new technology could save your life if your vehicle ends up in the water

New technology to help drivers escape if their vehicle becomes submerged in water, has been developed by a company that works with the startup incubator Communitech in Kitchener-Waterloo, Ont.

“What we’re finding now is more and more car manufacturers are making laminate glass as part of the door-window infrastructure,” explained Jim Petrik, the fire chief for Guelph/Eramosa Township.

But AWOS co-founder Sabrina Percher said her company’s technology can prevent a vehicle from becoming a sinking trap.

A demonstration video shows the windows opening when the vehicle hits the water, and the driver is able to exit within eight seconds of impact.

If the vehicle lands upside down in the water and its windows are closed and remain intact, it will right itself by rolling to an upright position.

With a built-in multi-axis inclinometer, AWOS recognizes inversion and delays the opening of the windows until the vehicle is in the upright position.