[BITList] Rescue Drones at Sea

[michael J Feltham]

South Wales coastguards test advanced search and rescue drones at sea

The device being trialled can examine an object's appearance and behaviour using software developed by British tech firm SciSys.
By Emily Mee, News Reporter

Coastguards in South Wales are trialling advanced drones which can detect the difference between floating objects and a person in distress. The device being tested by the coastguard and RNLI can examine an object's appearance and behaviour using software developed by British tech firm SciSys. First responders are also trialling another drone which can drop supplies to those stranded at sea before rescuers arrive. Around 190 people lose their lives on UK and Irish coasts every year, according to the RNLI, and deaths off the UK coastline reached record highs in 2015. One of the remote control drones was used in a test run which saw a man pretending to be in danger rescued from cliffs in Wales. The Indigo 3 drone combed the shoreline to find the man and alerted operators to his location. Drone technology has already proved useful in emergency situations, giving first responders a bird's eye view following natural disasters. Police are also using drones to track suspects on the run. This isn't the first time the technology has been trialled at sea, with a drone being used to save two boys in Australia earlier this year. The drones, which had been on trial for 2 weeks, were piloted to the swimmers and dropped a lifejacket to them. A lifeboat crew in Caister, Norfolk, were donated drones last year by insurance company Direct Line, becoming the first search and rescue team in the world to use the technology The village of Caister was chosen to receive the first roll-out of devices as it is more than an hour away from the nearest rescue helicopter. Without a boat, the average person stranded at sea can only survive for a couple of hours, so time is critical. The donated drones launch from lifeboats and feed live video back to screens on the vessel. The company hope to roll out the operation nationally in the future. Source: news.sky. 
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