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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

#31

Post by itishappy »

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…

Federal law requires all individuals under the age of 13 to wear a life jacket when underway. State laws vary. Enforcement and adherence are poor.

The only place I've ever seen operators make a shtick is commercial boat tours. Nobody cares if you're out fishing or drinking with the boys.

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#32

Post by jacobgkau »

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…

Yes. There's a patchwork of state laws, and there are federal Coast Guard requirements that cover states without their own laws. Generally, children have to wear life jackets, and there needs to be one for every adult on board. Depending on the state, adults may be required to wear them on certain types of boats or when transiting over certain underwater features.

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#33

Post by shagie »

WheatMillington wrote: post #19
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.

We wouldn't need seat belts if we simply didn't crash.

Seatbelts don't save the lives of pedestrians either.

No floatation devices are required for swimming.

The robots were a donation from a family that lost their daughter going out swimming two years ago.

https://www.wndu.com/2024/06/11/water-rescue-drones-donated-...

    ST. JOSEPH, Mich. (WNDU) - Emily MacDonald and Kory Ernster were just 19 and 22 and on a family vacation when their lives were cut short at South Haven’s South Beach on Aug. 8, 2022.

    Since then, their families have worked tirelessly for education and legislation related to water safety.

    As a part of these efforts, the MacDonalds and the Ernsters donated two E.M.I.L.Y. rescue drones on Monday afternoon to lifeguard crews at St. Joseph and New Buffalo beaches.

    “It’s just a coincidence that it’s named E.M.I.L.Y., and Emily was the beautiful girl that fell victim to drowning on that day, but it just works out to be a perfect tribute,” said Stephen Ernster, father of Kory.

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#34

Post by sandworm101 »

ben7799 wrote: post #24

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 in…

>> 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.

And a great many of those poor decisions are somewhat based on drugs/alcohol. The kid drowning because in a rip off a popular beach is rare. The grown man drowning stuck under his own dock, even in his own pool, on a friday night is not. We shouldn't deprive kids of water access because grownups make poor decisions while high.

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#35

Post by [deleted] »

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…

[deleted]

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#36

Post by rich_sasha »

ben7799 wrote: post #24

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 in…

I once went on an organized swim with wild marine mammals. What struck me was how many people on that trip could not swim and only relied on buoyancy aids and snorkels - I mean, guys, clue is in the activity title!

To be clear, this wasn't some swimming with captive dolphins, we were a few hrs out of port, in the middle of nowhere, in deep water.

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#37

Post by whalesalad »

ben7799 wrote: post #24

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 in…

I think we just need to be ok with the fact that people will die. Trying to attain a zero incident or zero death policy is completly unrealistic.

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#38

Post by chankstein38 »

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.

The price tag also seems like the people want it to be marketed as a robot. You could strap a motor and RC controller to a floatation device and waterproof it for less than a couple hundred dollars. Why do things that are meant for safety always have to be insanely priced?

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#39

Post by lotsofpulp »

sandworm101 wrote: post #34
ben7799 wrote: post #24

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 in…

>> 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. And a great many of those poor decisions are somewhat based on drugs/alcohol. The kid drowning because in a rip off a popular beach is rare. The grown man drowning stuck under his own dock, even in his own pool, on a friday night is not. We shouldn't deprive kids of water access because gro…

Just another example of the US’s excessive liability culture that is gumming up the gears of society.

Re: Robots on Lake Michigan beaches to prevent drownings

#40

Post by akadruid1 »

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?

These exist and have been saving lives for at least 6 years: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/adventure/article/lifegua...
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