A 22-year-old man, an international tourist, drowned on Wednesday while swimming near Fingal Beach in Northern New South Wales, Australia. For the first time, drones played a role in retrieving the body from the ocean.
A specially designed drone will help to keep Australian swimmers and surfers safe from sharks and drowning. The so-called shark-spotting Westpac Little Ripper Lifesaver drone comes with special software that helps to identify swimmers, surfers, and sharks. The rescue drone also carries a flotation device that can be dropped to struggling swimmers and comes equipped with a loud speaker. We have reported on drones being sued by lifeguards in Australia in Perth and Queensland but the Little Ripper seems significantly more advanced.