Specialised Intelligent Drones Patrol Beaches
They’re like magic robots in the sky. Drones have been used for military purposes, and more recently for deliveries, mapping tasks, agriculture observation, and aerial filming and photography. Now, perhaps for the first time, drones are being used to warn beachgoers of sharks.
Starting this month, Little Ripper, a company that specialises in the use of unmanned aerial vehicles for rescue operations, will monitor several beaches in Australia for signs of sharks. It will pass along their imagery to an artificial intelligence system that can identify sharks in real-time with 90 percent accuracy. Humans will still run the software, but this highly automated system could be quick and reliable enough to prevent attacks.
The initiative is a collaboration between the University of Technology Sydney’s School of Software and Little Ripper. The effort began in 2016 and culminated in a six-month trial that tested the drones off New South Wales’ coast. Little Ripper devices equipped with the shark-spotter system will be able to warn swimmers through a megaphone when they detect a shark.
The detection software uses machine learning to train the system to look for sharks and to distinguish them from other creatures in the water, based on aerial videos. The approach helps researchers identify and track not only sharks, but other marine populations like dolphins and whales.
The drones also hold beacons and life rafts, so they can offer immediate help to swimmers in distress. Little Ripper is also developing an electronic repellent that the devices could use to keep sharks away until rescuers arrive.
Drones are becoming extremely useful, with implementations in local and federal governments, industry and personal recreation. Shark spotting is a headline-grabbing example of how these flying machines can be deployed, but there’ll be a steady stream of innovative uses. Wherever there’s a need for an eye in the sky, someone will find a way to use a drone. Advanced connectivity, batteries and materials are making their way into the drone business and regulations are falling into place. It’s like a new life form floating around us.
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