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

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.

Comments

I remember they trialled this on Bondi Rescue

[Scoldog]

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?...

Re:I remember they trialled this on Bondi Rescue

[viperidaenz]

Not only did the jetski win, the victim can be taken back to shore with the jetski. All the drone can do is drop a floatation device that the victim must catch and use to keep afloat while real help arrives. If they miss, too bad, it only has one shot.

The person on the jetski can also help people who have started drowning and are unconscious.

Re:I remember they trialled this on Bondi Rescue

[Scoldog]

Yeah, I thought the same thing when I watched this episode. However, I reckon the drone, depending on its battery range, would do be good for shark spotting. It would also be cheaper than calling out the chopper all the time.

Re:I remember they trialled this on Bondi Rescue

[drago177]

It's obvious the jetski is by far more useful. But if it's a speed test, this doesn't seem fair. 1) They made the drone operator run from the watch tower 100ft to waterline. 2) The jetski was sitting there 8ft from water, 3) with a 4-wheeler 4) and a driver waiting to help him launch.

Re:I remember they trialled this on Bondi Rescue

[rtb61]

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.

Re:I remember they trialled this on Bondi Rescue

[Gadget_Guy]

I think where the drone would beat the jetski would be when they have difficulties locating the victim. There have been other Bondi Rescue episodes showing the rescuers searching the ocean for a person who, for all they knew, may have dropped below the surface. Even in the cases when dropping a floatation device would be of minimal value, being able to provide guidance to other lifeguards would be invaluable.

Re:I remember they trialled this on Bondi Rescue

[bgarcia]

The jetski won because:

• There were no 10 foot swells - the sea was as calm as could be in that "test". So the jetski could operate at full speed.
• The person in trouble was easily visible from shore. In 10 foot swells, a drone will have an easier time spotting a person in trouble far from shore.
• The drone was stationed at the beach, instead of at the lifeguard tower. So someone had to run from the tower to the drone first. That's silly.

The ideal situation would be to have a drone for spotting, with the capability to drop a flotation device, and have the jetski driver make use of the drone to determine where to go in rough seas.

This story is not what it seems

[Canbot]

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.

Re:This story is not what it seems

[thegarbz]

When interviewed the boys said they were not drowning but distressed because the drone is used to spot sharks and it scared them.

Completely irrelevant. They were reported to life savers by others which prompted a response. Whether or not they were drowning doesn't change that 2 people were in 3 meter swells some 700m off the coast. One way or the other they would have been fetched by lifesavers, the difference is the response time of the drone was much faster than traditionally launching the boat or worse, swimming out on a board.

It's also worth noting that it has been a nasty few weeks for drownings in Australia. Whether or not they were in trouble or practicing Olympic swimmers they would have been rescued or "rescued" one way or the other.

I can't believe it!!!!!!!!

[franzrogar]

So, they knew WHERE they must go and the FASTEST won!!!!! Unbelievable!!!!

Now, on MORE REAL SCENARIOS, where you don't have a f*c*ing idea WHERE YOUR TARGET IS... How would win?

Fastest or the one with WIDEST POINT OF VIEW?

Re: Not that we're keeping score

[cayenne8]

Between the Great White sharks, and the deadly almost microscopic jelly fish (box jelly?)....I can't imagine why ANYONE would ever want to set foot in the waters off the coast of Australia....???