“Baywatch” May Have Nothing on Lifeguard Drones
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iStock/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) — Drones on the beach? Is no place sacred from these mini-aircraft?
Before you get your bathing suit all up in a knot, experiments are being conducted in Chile with drones that could turn out to be literal lifesavers.
Although they’re not about to replace lifeguards, drones could greatly assist seashore saviors by reaching swimmers who are a considerable distance from land.
The rescue drones would carry floatation devices that could be dropped to swimmers in distress.
The drones would be operated by lifeguards and also be equipped with cameras and loudspeakers that enable them to give instructions to swimmers.
So far, initial tests have been promising, especially since the drones can reach their intended targets three times faster than the speediest lifeguard.
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