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Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

spotthedrowningchild.com

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Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#141

Post by Retra »

acomjean wrote: post #45
northben wrote: post #34

Fellow HN readers: We're a smart bunch of hackers. Why don't we have a startup working on a technology that could recognize and alert lifeguards when swimmers are in danger? I bet a few cameras and some (admittedly advanced) machine learning could spot swimmers in need of assistance.

I like the idea, but the stakes are really high in downing. At some point you want it to be helpful, but not to be so good as to make the human lifegaurd not pay full attention. Machine learning might not be the way to go here.. It definitely in the realm of possibilities. They're starting to do the camera assist in the checkout product theft prevention. http://www.stoplift.com/how-it-works/

As a non-lifeguard, I would rather have a machine than trust myself. So ideally, you would have both a lifeguard and another independent monitoring system for non-lifeguards. They could be fail-safes for each other.

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#142

Post by tinco »

How often does it happen that a lifeguard has to intervene in a swimming pool? I've been in pools a lot throughout my life and have never witnessed it.

Those kids also don't seem to be able to swim. In The Netherlands its obligatory for children to have their swim diploma before being allowed in the deep end. Also since swim school is part of primary education not many children exist above the age of thirteen that can't swim that I'm aware of. Is it different in the states?

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#143

Post by robertfw »

jacalata wrote: post #119

This didn't seem to do anything for me. I clicked on the kid I thought was in trouble and the video just paused. When I continued the video, I saw that I had in fact chosen the right kid, but I didn't see any way to interact with it at all, or acknowledgement if I had the right kid, etc. Windows 8, Chrome, ???

There's actually a bit of text below the video. I didn't see it at first either. Great intention but the tool could use a little polish.

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#144

Post by ender7 »

Friendly reminder: rescuing a drowning person (even a child) is incredibly dangerous if you have not been trained in how to do it. They will try to climb on top of you if they get a hold of you and unless you are an exceptionally strong swimmer they will then proceed to drown you. The drowning reflex overrides most people's abilities to process other thoughts, with the result that a loved one is just as likely to drown you as a stranger.

Many people are embarrassed by their inability to swim and so won't mention it in circumstances that you would expect them to -- visits to water parks, beaches, lakes, or even acting jobs that involve being pushed off a dock into a lake (oy). Don't assume that a person can swim, even if they tell you otherwise.

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#145

Post by rhaps0dy »

rhaps0dy wrote: post #95
bsznjyewgd wrote: post #17

I watched a few of the rescues, and they were all of kids falling out of their floaties and seemingly unable to swim at all. What does it look like when an able swimmer encounters trouble? Would it look the same as the drowning response kicks in? Also, how do you differentiate the drowning response from someone that's just bad at treading water and floats low in the water? They might both be bobbing just in and out o…

I'm still curious about this: "What does it look like when an able swimmer encounters trouble?" Do adults drown as often as children?

Thanks for the replies. What about able swimmers?

I've played water polo for several years. When participating in an activity where it's mandatory to wear a life jacket, I do, but is there really a point?

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#146

Post by stevewilhelm »

danfitch wrote: post #124

My wife and I have 4 children, she has insisted that they start lessons at a young age, and now my 9 and 7 year olds are excellent swimmers, with a 2 year old that can make it to the side if he falls in. It is absolutely terrifying to see these videos, but it helps knowing that we are doing everything we can to keep them safe.

I'm a big fan of very early swim lessons.

For Silicon Valley based parents, recommend AVAC. http://www.avac.us/

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#147

Post by Nadya »

tinco wrote: post #142

How often does it happen that a lifeguard has to intervene in a swimming pool? I've been in pools a lot throughout my life and have never witnessed it. Those kids also don't seem to be able to swim. In The Netherlands its obligatory for children to have their swim diploma before being allowed in the deep end. Also since swim school is part of primary education not many children exist above the age of thirteen that ca…

No required training in the States that I'm aware of and there are a surprising number of people who can't swim.

Most people who can't are in landlocked states and whose family either does not go to public pools or none of the family has a private pool.

No pool, no beach, no "real reason" to learn to swim.

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#149

Post by redblacktree »

parfe wrote: post #123
monk_e_boy wrote: post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was a lifeguard at a beach. I didn't have any dramatic rescues like the video, but you soon get a feeling of which kids are a little too adventurous and need keeping an eye on. Your brain soon kicks into holding your breath while watching kids swim, if one is splashing around while you start to feel uncomfortable it's time to wade in and drag them to the surface. Often for us it was the uneven sea bottom, someone t…

>hoik I learned a new word today. >2. To lift something up wildly.

Hah! Thanks for pointing it out. I thought it was made up.

Re: Show HN: Spot the Drowning Child

#150

Post by atourgates »

dimino wrote: post #46
atourgates wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I spent a few years of high school and college working at a summer camp, mostly as a counsellor. There were lots of great things about it, but being down by or in a lake with a group of 7-10 8-14 year olds was terrifying. I'd spend every minute counting the kids, making sure none of them were missing. At the camp I worked on, you not only had to worry about actual drownings, but also administrators who would try and…

Having had a similar experience (lifeguard/counselor), I never worried much about the kids at the lake. They had PFDs, they'll float. Swim tests were always my nightmare. That said, my bosses weren't huge assholes and didn't disappear kids regularly like yours sound like they did. We had drills, but you could tell by the demeanor of the director that it wasn't real.

I thought it was a really good practice, and didn't feel it was assholeish at all. It's not like having your camper stolen was unavoidable. If there's a lapse in your attention long enough that allows someone to walk up to one of your campers, explain to them what's going on and walk away with them, there's a lapse in your attention long enough for your camper to drown. You're signing up for your job with the primary description of, "Keep these kids safe for a week."

Plus, it wasn't a secret. We all knew it was happening. If all the counsellors down by the waterfront were being attentive and they couldn't steal a camper, one of the admins would just come up to a counsellor and ask us to take one of our kids, and tell us to go report a missing camper to the lifeguard in about 5-minutes.

Now as a parent, I'd much rather send my kid to a camp where the counsellors are terrified of losing my kid, than one where they're not.

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