This robot will emerge from the water to rescue drowning individuals as soon as it receives a signal.
While lifeguards play a crucial role in ensuring the safety of pools, they cannot always see what is happening both above and below the water’s surface. This is why many tragic drowning accidents still occur in swimming pools. However, this is set to change, as there will soon be a robot hidden underwater that can save lives.
Robot rescuing drowning individuals. (Image: New Atlas).
The current prototype is being developed by a team of engineers from the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems, System Technology, and Image Mining in Germany. They are collaborating on this project with colleagues from the underwater rescue agency in Halle. According to their plans, the main body of the robot will remain submerged at the bottom of pools, docks, and other locations. A camera system will also be installed on the ceiling to monitor the movements and positions of swimmers in the pool. When an artificial intelligence-based computer system detects someone drowning, it will send their location to the robot.
The robot responds by moving to the notified coordinates, using onboard cameras to visually locate the person exhibiting signs of distress. It then emerges from below to lift the drowning individual to the surface using a mechanism similar to a buoy. If the swimmer is unresponsive, a tightening mechanism will secure their body in the appropriate position on top of the robot to prevent slipping off.
The robot can also be deployed in open water, though in this case, the overhead camera will be mounted on a balloon or a drone. Additionally, due to the water quality not being as clear as that of a swimming pool, the robot will approach the swimmer using sound sensors instead of visual cameras.
Robot transporting a dummy to shore during a test. (Image: New Atlas).
In a test conducted at Hufeisensee Lake in Halle, the robot prototype successfully located an 80 kg dummy at a depth of 3 meters. The robot then secured the dummy, brought it to the surface, and transported it 40 meters to the rescue team on the shore. This entire process took approximately 2 minutes. Although the current version of the robot is built upon the framework of an existing underwater vehicle, researchers also hope to develop a dedicated model for the future that is smaller, lighter, and more cost-effective.
This is not the first instance of robot lifeguards in the world. Several devices with similar functions have been produced, such as the EMILY robot, U-Safe, and Dolphin 1, which can operate on the water’s surface to rescue distressed swimmers, and drones like Auxdron and Pars, which can drop flotation devices from the air for drowning individuals. However, all of these devices require real-time remote control by technicians on shore. Meanwhile, the system currently under development aims to operate entirely autonomously.
