Should you ever find yourself drowning, help may come not from Baywatch-esque lifeguards running in slow motion, but from the sky. A beach in Chile is piloting a program of lifeguard drones that can zip out over the sea and drop a life preserver to struggling swimmers, buying time for the human lifeguard to retrieve them.
It could be just the sort of thing to keep someone afloat long enough to survive and to stop them from ingesting water. By hovering over the victim, the drone also can help lifeguards find the person in need, even in choppy waters.
The drone is equipped with GPS and video devices that allow a human pilot to assist in dropping the floatation device.Green Solution and X-Cam designed the drone, and it's not hard to see them going international in beachside towns. Add some anti-dolphin lasers and we're sold.
Source: Slate
