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Lifesaving Drone Makes First Rescue In Australia (yahoo.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the first-of-its-kind dept.

Zorro shares a report from Yahoo News: A pair of Australian swimmers on Thursday became the first people to be rescued in the ocean by a drone when the aerial lifesaver dropped a safety device to distressed teens caught in rough seas. In what is believed to be a world-first drone surf rescue, two boys on Thursday got caught in three-meter (10-foot) swells while swimming off Lennox Head in New South Wales, near the border with Queensland. Beachgoers onshore raised the alarm to the lifeguards who then alerted the drone pilot, and the aerial lifesaver was deployed in moments.

Along with their ability to spot swimmers in trouble and deliver life saving devices faster than traditional lifesaving techniques, like launching surfboards or rubber dinghies, drones are being used in Australia to spot underwater predators like sharks and jellyfish. Artificial intelligence is being developed using thousands of images captured by a drone camera to build an algorithm that can identify different ocean objects. The software can differentiate between sea creatures, like sharks which it can recognize with more than 90 percent accuracy, compared to about 16 percent with the naked eye.

3 of 45 comments (clear)

  1. I remember they trialled this on Bondi Rescue by Scoldog · · Score: 3, Interesting

    They trialled this on Bondi Rescue a while back. They raced the drone, a lifeguard on a board and a lifeguard on the jetski. The jetski won. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

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    1. Re:I remember they trialled this on Bondi Rescue by rtb61 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You could of course do drones on rotation, so one is always up in rescue position and of course they would be enormously cheaper. So race ignores logical application and the drone could have a strong cord attached to the flotation device and ensure the flotation device is delivered to the person being rescued, whilst a board makes it's way out there. Depending upon the power output of the drone, it could also tow the person holding onto the flotation device back into shore. Now if you have three on rotation, so one is always up in the air, all three can be deployed at the same time if necessary, more than one rescue at a time, and nearby beaches.

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  2. This story is not what it seems by Canbot · · Score: 2, Interesting

    When interviewed the boys said they were not drowning but distressed because the drone is used to spot sharks and it scared them. The price is also being kept a secret. There is a lot of viral marketing on this. Someone is working really hard to builk the government of hundreds of thousands and potentially millions of dollars.