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.
Automatic Window Opening Systems (AWOS) Technologies created the vehicle escape system that automatically lowers windows and connects to emergency services, assisting drivers and passengers with getting out safely.
A water rescue can be much more complicated when it involves a vehicle.
“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. “What the challenge with that is, when we go to break the glass, it doesn’t shatter.”
The pressure from water pushing against a car can make it near impossible for the windows to open. And if the electrical systems malfunction, the windows may not work at all.
“If you have power-operating …