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posted by cmn32480 on Monday January 22 2018, @04:44PM   Printer-friendly
from the swim-across-the-riptide,-not-up-it dept.

A dramatic rescue at Lennox Head on the state's Far North Coast has made world history after new drone technology was used to save two swimmers struggling in heavy surf.

As lifeguards were training to familiarise themselves with the drone equipment as part of the NSW government's $16 million shark mitigation strategy on Thursday, a call came through of two distressed swimmers.

Lifeguard supervisor Jai Sheridan, the 2017 NSW Lifeguard of the Year, was piloting the unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) at the time, immediately responded and was able to locate the swimmers within minutes of the initial alert.

"The Little Ripper UAV certainly proved itself today, it is an amazingly efficient piece of lifesaving equipment and a delight to fly," Mr Sheridan said.

"I was able to launch it, fly it to the location, and drop the pod all in about one to two minutes. On a normal day that would have taken our lifeguards a few minutes longer to reach the members of the public."

Source: http://www.smh.com.au/nsw/world-first-a-drone-has-been-used-to-rescue-two-swimmers-struggling-in-heavy-surf-20180118-h0kg9m.html

Also at: engadget


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  • (Score: 2) by Grishnakh on Monday January 22 2018, @05:09PM (1 child)

    by Grishnakh (2831) on Monday January 22 2018, @05:09PM (#626138)

    I had to re-read this to realize that the drone wasn't lost. I thought this was a story about the drone that famously had rescued two swimmers several days ago, and they were now saying the drone was sadly lost in some rough surf. Then I remembered how SN is always many days behind the mainstream news, reporting things as "news" when I was already reading about them up to a week beforehand, read the summary more carefully instead of my usual fast-scan, and realized that the swimmers were caught in rough surf, not the drone.

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 22 2018, @09:45PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday January 22 2018, @09:45PM (#626251)

    Do you know how SN works? Do you know what a news aggregator is? Do you know the news before they happen? Be sure to submit those right away...

    Remember snowflake, SN is about the comments.