Robot Lifeguards?
What would happen if you combined David Hasselhoff with Robocop?
Well, you'd get a lifeguard that's arguably stronger and quicker. You'd call her EMILY, or as she's better known, The EMergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard.
The Hydronalix corporation, which created EMILY, is primarily engaged in the engineering and design of high speed unattended devices for littoral and brown water operations. They build high speed portable personal water craft that can be deployed by ship, aircraft or by swimmers.
The Arizona based company built EMILY to be faster than a human lifeguard. Able to spend 500+ minutes on patrol at five miles per hour, it can attain top speed bursts of 40 miles per hour. EMILY weighs in at only 25 pounds and can carry an additional 15 pounds of payload.
EMILY was recently sighted in California at Malibu's Zuma Beach this past June. For now, lifeguards still control EMILY by remote control, but a newer model is in the pipeline that works by sonar and can can auto-deploy. The auto deploy feature works by using sonar for sensing a swimmer's motion pattern and matching it to that of a person in distress. The newer edition of EMILY will cost about $3,500, which seems like quite a deal if it can deliver on its design specifications. Here are some more facts about EMILY.
-Tethered Buoy Sleep Mode, 100+ hours
-Battery Storage – 577 watt/hours
-5 mph Patrol – 518 minutes
-Speed – programmable for max of 40 mph
-35 minute duration at 40 mph max speed
-Weight – 25 pounds
-Craft Dimensions – 54” Length, 16” Width, 8” Height
-Payload Capacity – additional up to 15 pounds
-80 pound buoyancy
Check out the Hydronalix website to learn more.
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