It seems like our friends at Yanko Design are always thinking of new ways to make things better. And this time, they’re looking for more compact method to keep store life saving materials so anyone on a sinking ship has a better chance at survival. Enter the Rescue Stick.

The Rescue Stick is a baton shaped container which is tied together by specially designed strings which dissolve upon entering the water to automatically release a horseshoe shaped life float. Should the baton strings fail to dissolve, the tube can be extracted and inflated manually as well.

The rate of inflation is lightening quick thanks to the chemical reaction which can fill the tube with gas in anywhere from .5-4 seconds depending on which chemical compound is used inside. More likely, however, the tube will include a compress CO2 gas cartridge which will blast inflate the tube in the same amount of time.

Another advantage of the rescue stick design is that of natural disasters, where Coast Guard and Navy choppers can air drop hundreds to survivors until they can get fished out of the water.

But while the design is compact and great for storage until needed, even the designers admit that at this stage, the per unit cost of manufacturing such a design may make the Rescue Stick cost prohibitive. But they’re working on improving that.

Meanwhile, the concept represents solid, out of the box thinking on how technology and design can create solutions that can save lives when the worst case scenario rears it’s ugly head.