Log in
  
Home > Sensors Mag
Sensors Mag

Sensors Announces Winner of the 2006 Humanitarian Award

October 30, 2006 By: Sensor Contributor


Recipient Honored for Innovative Life-Saving Device

NEWTON, MA., October 30, 2006 - Sensors, the premier publication dedicated to sensors and sensor-related technologies, has announced that Bob Hoenig, cofounder of AquaSonus, -is winner of the 2006 Sensors Humanitarian Award.

The editors of Sensors magazine presented the award to Hoenig for the development of AquaSonus, an innovative pool alarm system that reduces the number of accidental injuries and drownings by detecting a child's unsupervised presence in a backyard swimming pool.

AquaSonus consists of two units, a poolside sensor that continuously analyzes and distinguishes among acoustic sounds caused by pumps, wind-driven waves, falling debris, or a child in the water, and an indoor remote monitor. Both activate a red light and 100 dB alarms when the sensor detects a child in trouble.

"Instant notification of an accident is imperative for parents and caregivers. The rapid rescue of a child not only saves the child's life, but also limits the possibility of brain damage," says Hoenig. "The seriousness of this problem was the primary impetus in the development of a high-technology sensor and DSP-based solution."

It's been estimated that 300 children aged 4 and younger drown in residential pools each year. In 2003, nearly 800 children aged 14 and under died from accidental drowning. 20% of those who do survive are left with permanent neurological disabilities.

Each year, editors of Sensors magazine honor an individual or group of individuals whose engineering work has helped fellow human beings. Winners of the Sensors Humanitarian Award are motivated by an incident or situation to devise a solution to a medical or ethical problem.

About Questex: Questex Media Group is a global, diversified business-to-business integrated media provider, headquartered in Newton, Mass. Questex Media serves multiple industries including technology, travel, beauty, home entertainment, landscaping, and industrial and specialty markets through a range of well-established, market-leading products and services. The company's properties include 23 trade publications and 25 conferences and tradeshows, as well as a host of databases and online media brands. Questex Media has more than 400 employees in offices throughout North America, Latin America, Asia and Europe.

Contact: Dana Fisher, Group Publisher, Questex Media Technology Publishing Group 714-338-6729 dfisher@questex.com






Sensors.tv