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Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

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Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#21

Post by nine_k »

MengerSponge wrote: post #16
marcellus23 wrote: post #4

This isn't really a robot, more of just a remote-controlled boat. Still cool and a great idea for helping people who are drowning, of course. But seems misleading to call it a "robot", which (to me at least) implies some level of autonomy and more tech than you'd find in toy RC cars from 30 years ago.

Industrial "robots" often (generally?) have very little autonomy. It's helpful to not be constrained to the human form. What is a robot? An automated laborer.

Industrial robots are autonomous: they do not require an operator.

An RC car requires one.

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#22

Post by CodeWriter23 »

hereme888 wrote: post #6

Good. Finally. So much more efficient than a human on a paddleboard. I wonder if it a drone could complement the technology by quickly dropping a flotation device while this robot or a recuer arrive to escort them.

Lifeguards on some beaches in CA use rapid-deploy personal water craft like a Seadoo.

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#24

Post by ben7799 »

If it's $12k and requires an operator this seems more of a band-aid than anything. Where are the operators going to come from? And for a lot of places the operator + device probably pays for 3 lifeguards or swim instructors.

Nothing is going to get better until we start trying to get out of the hole and improve the average person's ability to swim and make decisions in open water. I used to be a lifeguard and swim instructor and it has mostly felt like things have gotten worse and worse over the last 20 years. Fewer and fewer places to swim, more and more places just made everything a wading pool or a splash park to reduce liability, and after a generation of this there is an undersupply of people who can teach others to swim. Now some municipalities in my area are trying to ban swimming in open water. They closed all the pools to save money, it gets hotter and hotter and more people who can't swim go in the oceans/rivers/ponds/lakes to try and cool off. A lot of the people who never learned to swim make extremely poor decisions when they go into open water or use a small boat. The answer is not to fine them for going in the water.

It's pretty frustrating to think about all this after watching the Olympic trials this past weekend.

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#25

Post by WheatMillington »

akira2501 wrote: post #12
beart wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This feels a bit like blaming the victim. There are any number of things that can go wrong which may or may not be under your control. Specifically, the Great Lakes are more like seas than lakes. They have rip currents that can unexpectedly get you into trouble.

The robot brings you a flotation device. You should have one of those already. You should be wearing it if you're on the water for exactly the reason you've stated. Almost no one actually does this. I've lived and fished on the lake for years. It's great for recreation. Way too many people do so entirely unprepared and often drastically underestimate the impacts of alcohol out on a boat in the hot sun.

Does the US have regulations around this? Here in New Zealand a boat must carry a life jacket for every person on board, and kids must wear a life jacket at all times. On vessels over 6 metres all people onboard must wear a life jacket at all times, unless the skipper has performed a safety assessment and advises they don't need to (e.g. on a ferry it's extremely unlikely anyone would have to wear a life jacket, but a charter fishing vessel may).

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#26

Post by itishappy »

aftbit wrote: post #17
sailingparrot wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are many reasons why a life jacket cannon is a terrible idea. How do you get perfect accuracy ? People that are drowning can’t swim anymore in many cases, they barely have energy to stay on the surface. So you can’t be off by 10 meters. They also won’t have the energy to put the life jacket while already in the water. And while life jackets properly equipped around your torso make you float correctly, barely re…

How about a flying drone that drops an inflatable from a few meters above the struggling swimmer?

How about using a cheap floating platform? One with a more efficient operating mode, larger payload capacity, less moving parts, safe failure modes...

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#27

Post by exe34 »

sailingparrot wrote: post #11
akira2501 wrote: post #3

I'm not sure thinking of the robots as "increasing safety" is a useful mindset. They increase the chance of rescue. If you needed one in the first place, it's because you unintentionally neglected safety well before they deployed the robot to you. Anyways.. as an aside.. if it's just about getting flotation devices out to them faster, why not a "life jacket cannon" mounted to the beach? If you really want to make it…

There are many reasons why a life jacket cannon is a terrible idea. How do you get perfect accuracy ? People that are drowning can’t swim anymore in many cases, they barely have energy to stay on the surface. So you can’t be off by 10 meters. They also won’t have the energy to put the life jacket while already in the water. And while life jackets properly equipped around your torso make you float correctly, barely re…

knowing my luck, they would hit their aim perfectly, and I'd be knocked out.

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#28

Post by lawlessone »

marcellus23 wrote: post #4

This isn't really a robot, more of just a remote-controlled boat. Still cool and a great idea for helping people who are drowning, of course. But seems misleading to call it a "robot", which (to me at least) implies some level of autonomy and more tech than you'd find in toy RC cars from 30 years ago.

i thought was just a backpack until it took off

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#29

Post by gknoy »

WheatMillington wrote: post #25
akira2501 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The robot brings you a flotation device. You should have one of those already. You should be wearing it if you're on the water for exactly the reason you've stated. Almost no one actually does this. I've lived and fished on the lake for years. It's great for recreation. Way too many people do so entirely unprepared and often drastically underestimate the impacts of alcohol out on a boat in the hot sun.

Does the US have regulations around this? Here in New Zealand a boat must carry a life jacket for every person on board, and kids must wear a life jacket at all times. On vessels over 6 metres all people onboard must wear a life jacket at all times, unless the skipper has performed a safety assessment and advises they don't need to (e.g. on a ferry it's extremely unlikely anyone would have to wear a life jacket, but…

> Does the US have regulations around this?

I would be _very surprised_ if we did not have regulations about this, similar to seat belt laws. But the problem is probably enforcement. Nothing stops people from having a life vest on in port, and then taking them off once they are "away from the nannies" or whatever excuse people use when drinking.

I have only been on a boat rarely, but I don't recall seeing any kindof police on jetskis or boats that would go check on whether people had safety equipment on and then ticket them.

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#30

Post by ben7799 »

WheatMillington wrote: post #25
akira2501 wrote: post #12

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The robot brings you a flotation device. You should have one of those already. You should be wearing it if you're on the water for exactly the reason you've stated. Almost no one actually does this. I've lived and fished on the lake for years. It's great for recreation. Way too many people do so entirely unprepared and often drastically underestimate the impacts of alcohol out on a boat in the hot sun.

Does the US have regulations around this? Here in New Zealand a boat must carry a life jacket for every person on board, and kids must wear a life jacket at all times. On vessels over 6 metres all people onboard must wear a life jacket at all times, unless the skipper has performed a safety assessment and advises they don't need to (e.g. on a ferry it's extremely unlikely anyone would have to wear a life jacket, but…

The US has regulations on all of this but they are routinely ignored by people who can't swim but own boats.

Small boat owners are required to have the life jackets on board but they can be hidden under the seats of a boat or inside a hatch and that will be OK even when you are inspected by the coast guard. Small children are the only ones required to wear their life jacket.

Larger vessels have to have the life jackets but no one wears a life jacket. Most of these vessels the captain will explain where they are but the crew would be required to get them out in an emergency.

Most of the small boat owners I've known wouldn't have much chance of retrieving life jackets from fastened compartments on their boat if it flipped and they were thrown from the boat.

One of the worst accidents I've seen was a small commercial lobster boat on fire. The crew were all hanging off the back of the boat without their life jackets and had pointed the boat into the harbor. Luckily the coast guard was there to save the day.

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