Drone rescues swimmers from rough Australian seas for the first time ever

By Nicole DiGiose, content editor

A drone rescued two swimmers off an Australian beach last week, which is a world-first for the fast-developing technology. In a press release sent via email, French company Helper Drone announced that it saved the lives of six people in total who were too far out at sea to swim back to shore.

Helper Drone’s life-saving HELPER. Image source: helper-drone.com.

Dubbed the “drone lifeguard,” the first life was saved by HELPER, the company’s all-star drone, in August 2016. The experience gained from working on the drone since then has reached a technologically proven solution, and the team now aims to industrialize it in Europe and the United States. According to the company’s press release, it beats all existing sea rescue solutions by far, in time and efficiency, meaning that it can save more lives.

In its press release, Helper Drone stated that 360,000 people die by drowning in the world each year. In the United States, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional death in children aged one to 14 years old, and the cost of drowning is estimated at $273 million per year. Thanks to the use of rescue drones, these numbers are expected to drop.

HELPER drones can deliver medical supplies. Image source: helper-drone.com.

As for the HELPER itself, it’s certified by DGAC  and allows lifeguards to drop a self-inflating buoy in close proximity to the person in danger. The navigation information in the automatically flying drone — including a GPS and compass — helps to identify the location and difficulty that the person is in, which aids the lifeguards, helicopters, jet skis, and/or life boats in the rescue mission. What’s more, the drone can also be equipped with medical kits, defibrillators, and other supplies to adapt to each crisis situation.

With the use of a HELPER drone, lifeguards can drop a self-inflating buoy in close proximity to people in danger. Image source: helper-drone.com.

Now with its accompanying app, a ground station called Helper Vision, the company allows users to manage a fleet of several drones simultaneously. Whether connected to the internet or not, it’s also possible to mesh several ground stations around a single drone.

In its latest tests with Miami lifeguards, the high-tech drone showed off its impressive life-saving skills by rescuing a man at sea in less than 30 seconds. According to Helper Drone, ordinary solutions take more than four minutes to reach the victim.

The HELPER has recently returned from CES, where it was invited by Total , a French oil, gas, and energy company. For more information on this life-saving technology, visit helper-drone.com .