The boom in artificial intelligence has caused different companies to use it in practically all areas. In the ocean it is also proving to be a very useful tool as the brain of autonomous ships or to detect up to 75% of industrial fishing vessels that are not registered.
Now, China has developed autonomous boats that use artificial intelligence to replace lifeguards and provide maritime assistance. Your name? High-tech drowning prevention and rescue system.
First responders 2.0. It has been researchers from the Hefei Institute of Physical Sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences who have developed this USV—unmanned surface vehicle—intended to replace, or at least complement, lifeguards. The team responsible states that human rescuers have to fight against the water, cover a very large area and have a response time that depends on other factors, such as limited visibility.
The USV. Instead, this unmanned marine vehicle is powered by an engine that uses artificial intelligence and big data analysis to provide continuous monitoring. It has an early warning system and autonomous rescue capacity, which reduces the response time compared to a human and, according to its creators, it is “a promising solution for the marine safety of large public sites.”
As we can see in the image above, the vehicle is not too big, but it has a series of handholds that the rescued person can hold on to at the time of rescue.
Full of sensors. The artificial intelligence system serves to analyze all the data that the vehicle receives through external sources and its sensors, crossing all the information to be able to carry out the rescue work. It is complemented by a system of more than 100 cameras, both optical and thermal, that guarantee 24/7 high-definition surveillance in areas that have been designated as “key”, being the most susceptible to accidents.
The brain can use image recognition to detect even the most subtle movements in the water, evaluating it in real time, alerting operators when a swimmer enters a restricted area or when someone shows a sign of distress. The position is triangulated and sent to the drone.
Almost no humans. The Chinese researchers comment that the USVs are guided remotely at first, which requires the human hand, but that when they are in the area, they switch to full autonomy mode. That is when they finish approaching the target, carrying out a quick rescue “with minimal human intervention,” they say in the statement.
According to them, this system improves the reliability and speed of rescues. It seems that the great limitation is the need to monitor dangerous areas with these cameras apart from the autonomous boat itself, which increases the cost of the operation, but it can also be a tool to add peace of mind, precisely to bathers who enter. in those waters.
Image | HEFEI
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