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Comment by JorgeGT | Hacker News Reader

Thanks for sharing, I live a few km away from the spot and didn't hear. It's very fortunate that they managed to alert the lifeguard, because in most cases drowning is silent and discreet [1], unlike the movies. I wonder if either a patrolling drone or a onshore hi-res camera could use ML to recognize the signs of drowning and alert the lifeguard in case the person in distress is unable to do so, as usually happens.

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[1] https://www.popsci.com/identify-prevent-drowning

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Once there are more safety drones, people will get used to indicating to them that they need help.

The Black Mirror version is that the drone is sponsored by a tv channel that prolongs the rescue for maximum drama.

The "drowning is silent and discreet" fact isn't very relevant here - no one was drowning, they were just at risk of tiring out and starting to drown in the near future. A flotation device delivered by drone would have to get quite lucky to help someone who was already drowning, while here the woman involved helps position the flotation device.

The woman puts on the lifejacket herself, but she's being held afloat by the man next to her. She doesn't seem able to kep herself afloat- the waves keep washing over her and she can hardly keep her head above them even with the lifejacket on.

Yes, I'm just saying that the drone was not involved in rescuing someone who was already drowning and there was no difficulty alerting the life guard because she was exhausted and out too far rather than unable to easily breathe. The dangers here were quite different than the commenter I replied to was bringing up.

No. Look closely. This is very shallow water. Some people are standing between waves. Im not sure we have the full story. She seems simply exhausted or hypothermic. A jetski also arrives almost immediately.

The first thing i noticed about her was that she was far to high in the water to be floating. He chest is visible above the surface. Nobody, even with help, can maintain that for more than a couple seconds. She is standing.

(Small waves breaking + murky water also means shallow.)

There's a man holding her up, that's why she's high on the water.

When I swim in the ocean I always tow a float behind me. It's mainly to be visible to boats, but if I get a cramp or something I can hold onto it and save myself from drowning.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2013/12/exclusive-branded-openwa...

Have you conceded an inflatable life vest, like in the airplane safety instructions? Pull the cord - get a float.

Unless it was designed for swimming, that would be pretty nasty. It would cause a lot of drag and would likely chafe.

A few swimmers do carry inflatable vests in a pouch. However I think the towed float is a better option since it makes you more visible.

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/09/the-swim-it-in-depth-rev...

It looks like they had been taken by a rip current and the lady had exhausted her energy. In such a case one is very close to drowning. Most likely the guys managed to bring her back close to shore before the drone had arrived, at which point she received the lifejacket. Women are normally much shorter than men, so that could be a reason. The beach in the video tends to have uneven grounds with deeper areas (rip currents tend to take place at the deepest point, that is if you swim sideways you might step on higher grounds).

Still, a very decent solution if a drone can deliver a lifejacket before the jet skis/swimmers arrive.

I'd like to see it used for shark detection too. Maybe the drone could drop an anti-shark device into the water near any swimmers who are too close to a shark, according to the drone's aerial view. Adding an audio advisory would help too.

Considering the extreme rarity of shark attacks, I imagine those resources would be better spent elsewhere.

https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/shark-attacks/trends/frequ...

I bet you'd see a positive ROI given the profitability of other safety devices.

So many parents would pay an extra $5 to be at a drone shark patrolled beach.

I’d buy one to bring to the beach with me.

In Australia there have been talks of culling sharks or putting up massive nets along beaches. A deployable distraction or deterrent against sharks would probably be more cost effective.

They already do use drones for shark detection.

That's right, here's an article on the same site: http://www.thedrive.com/aerial/16913/drones-in-australia-hel...

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