A HIGH-tech tsunami escape pod capable of floating on water and designed to save lives is on the cusp of production.
Customers are already queuing up to get their hands on the bright orange, sphere-shaped capsule that’s guaranteed to protect them from some of the world’s worst natural disasters.
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Kitted with two small porthole windows, ceramic lining for insulation and a GPS tracking system, the tsunami “survival pods” act as the ultimate protection against catastrophic emergencies.
Made from aircraft-grade aluminium, the capsules are made to stop them rolling upside down – and can be tethered to stop them from being washed out to sea.
Initial designs allowed just two people to fit inside the survival capsules but now four, six, eight, ten and even 12-man pods will become available.
These larger structures have been designed to accommodate large families and the elderly, as well as schools with young children.
At the forefront of this remarkable invention is Brit aerospace engineer Julian Sharpe, the founder of Survival Capsule.
He first envisioned the idea following the 2004 Indonesian Tsunami which tragically took the lives of some 225,000 people.
Following 20 years of meticulous planning, research and development, he is now ready to help save lives, with the survival pods “right on the cusp of production.”
Speaking to The Sun, he said: “The typical reaction is to run away from a tsunami, even though you know you’re not going to make it, but now we can convince people to ride it out.
“The beauty of this is that you have somewhere to go that will keep you safe.
“You can survive in the capsule for weeks, it’s got supplies.
“I would much prefer to be in a capsule and bob around for a day or two, maybe pop my fishing rod out the porthole until I can fish, and then get picked up.
“The point is, you’re not dying in the tsunami. The idea is to survive.”
Survival chances are increased further through the use of an installed GPS system, a neat and intricate feature that enables civilians to be found in the aftermath of a tsunami.
Civilians must register the survival pod with the local coastguard, however, so that their GPS signal can be monitored and traced should they divert offshore.
But the addition of tethers should hopefully mean that doesn’t happen.
“The capsules come with tethers, so you have the option of tethering on a 60-80ft cable so you don’t necessarily go offshore,” Sharpe explained.
“We advise tethers for sure. A GPS is your last line of defence.”
He added that people are also encouraged to have some kind of communication inside the pod, like a small hand radio, should anything go wrong with the tracking system or tethers.
Once located by emergency services, however, the survival capsules can be taken away by a helicopter.
“It has a hoisting point on the north pole, so a helicopter can come along and pick you up,” said Sharpe.
“The larger capsules have ports at the top so people can get out if the helicopter can’t lift a 12-person – you can go out individually up the helicopter cable,” he added.
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Flares can also be deployed from the windows or portholes to attract further attention.
Made of lexan, a polycarbonate used for bulletproof glass, the windows are countersunk so they’re not on the surface, allowing for large debris items to pass by without making contact.
“When we were in Japan we saw a lot of rebar, a lot of steel bolts left on foundations where the wooden structures had been taken away,” Sharpe explained.
“There’s a lot of sharp object penetration capabilities, so we wanted a very strong glass to be able to react to that – and lexan is the strongest, if you like.”
Inside the capsules, you’ll find emergency essentials such as air tanks and water tanks, while the seating has four-point harness straps so you’re locked into your seat.
There are also vents to help with circulation, which can be closed in the event of a debris field fire.
While the pods seem perfectly kitted out for a natural disaster, they are yet to be tried and tested during the real thing.
In order to prove their reliability, numerous experiments have been conducted to determine whether the pods are suited for a tsunami.
From sending them down waterfalls and dropping them out the back of military transport aircraft, Sharpe and his team have left no stone unturned.
“We’ve obviously done all the analysis and testing in a professional sense but a capsule in a test facility doesn’t really tell you what it’s good for,” the Brit inventor explained.
“Obviously, a tsunami is a large body of water hitting your capsule, which we can’t stimulate, so we send our capsule to a large body of water instead.
We know the capsule is solid and it’s more than capable of surviving a tsunami environment
Julian Sharpe
“We’ve sent one over a waterfall, about 30ft higher than Niagara (Falls), just to show what happens, and it hit the water three times faster than a tsunami would hit it.
“A tsunami comes in at about 25mph and this capsule was doing just over 75mph when it hit the water, so we have a factor of three on that.
“The idea was to really demonstrate its capabilities – we know the capsule is solid and it’s more than capable of surviving a tsunami environment.”
In 2017, Microsoft worker Jeanne Johnson, 55, became the first person to buy one of the survival vehicles.
Living on Washington state’s Long Beach Peninsula, she wouldn’t be able to run to higher ground to escape a tsunami, so she invested in one of the two seater pods.
Fast forward seven years, however, and Sharpe has customers queuing up for the survival capsules from all around the world.
He said: “We’ve built a number of capsules in Japan, we’ve selected a manufacturing partner at different locations, so next year we’re going to start building capsules for production in Japan.
“In Seattle, we’ve got a production partner who’s built a number of capsules, so later this year we’re going to start building capsules for our first group of customers.
“A lot of interest has come from hurricane, typhoon and cyclone areas, anywhere you get tidal surge, flashflooding – even tornado countries.
“50 per cent of our US customers are from the east coast, so it seems to be gathering momentum.”
Sharpe adds that agreements are also being struck up with groups in Mauritius and French Polynesia, where kits are shipped and assembled locally.
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“When the government gives them subsidies to get capsules, a percentage of that money is spent on generating employment in their own country, so they kind of like that business model.”
Despite their crucial importance to saving human lives, the pods aren’t going to come cheap.
When Mrs Johnson became Sharpe’s first customer seven years ago, she forked out $13,500 (£10,400) for her two seater pod – and was willing to spend a further $4,000 (£3,000) to upgrade to a four seater.
Now, it will cost you “anywhere between $20,000-25,000 (£15,750-£19,685)” for a basic two-person pod – which still provides you with everything you need to survive, of course.
However, any extra add-ons, such as dye penetration, an air horn or “whatever you want”, according to Sharpe, will cost extra.
“The idea is that we have modular upgrades which you can add on afterwards, so if you want extra things you can get over the initial cost and then purchase them,” said the former aerospace engineer.
Even so, the cost for one of these pods is remarkably high.
But Sharpe explains how many countries and companies will be offering subsidies – a benefit given by the government – to help with purchases and make the pods more affordable.
Japan, for example, will be subsidising up to 66 per cent for private purchase, while the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in the US are offering subsidies in lieu of vertical evacuation towers.
“The beauty of this device is that, quite often, you can get subsidies for these. So it can be affordable,” Sharpe said.
The pods have also been designed in a way where 75 per cent of it can be assembled robotically, allowing for 24/7 production when orders pick up.
The introduction of robotic assembly will also mean the price of the pods will come down “pretty quickly”, making them even more affordable for customers.
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