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Hydronalix EMILY

The robot lifeguard

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Hydronalix EMILY Courtesy Kimball Hall Photography

Ocean riptides drown an estimated 100 people every year in the U.S. They can sweep a swimmer out to sea at up to eight feet per second, outpacing even the strongest lifeguard. EMILY, the Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard, is a four-foot-long remote-controlled rescue buoy that can zip across choppy waves at up to 26 mph, reaching a drowning victim 10 times as fast as any swimmer.

Propulsion comes from an electric motor and a Jet Ski–type impellor that pulls water in and ejects it out the back, generating enough thrust to safely tow a struggling swimmer back to shore. Lifeguards remotely steer the craft to its target and use an onboard camera and speaker to communicate with victims. Manufacturer Hydronalix has successfully tested EMILY at more than 20 beaches nationwide and next year plans to introduce a version that can navigate on its own using sonar. $3,500.

5 Comments

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brucet45410

11/30/10 at 4:44 pm

Very cool. I wish something like this was available when my favorite hat blew off my head...

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GTO

11/30/10 at 5:37 pm

I think they have something like that already. A jet ski.

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A_Rock

11/30/10 at 6:29 pm

If they really think they can make it for $3,500 then it would be cheaper then a standard multi-person jet ski.
Hey it won't have to eat food or get romped around for the hell of it (although if it's remote controlled you could of coarse) but it could also post up for long periods of time around notorious riptide zones, scanning with the sonar! It could have a really wide effective response radius. It does go 26mph!
Think about it, they could just sit out there and if someone makes it out too far or seems to be struggling it could cruise on up and offer assistance! (here's the socialist part) This service is only available when paid for with a fee. You can pay at the place you go (like parking fees or amusement parks and such). You can buy one of your own that you can have follow you around (I could see advantages to that for sure). Someone can let you use their's for free (but they paid for it!) Or!!! (drum-roll) you can pay in taxes. Think about it! Which those options is the most cost effective?

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Rooskies2006

12/01/10 at 10:54 am

Something needs to be done to keep all the spam off of the comment sections. It is annoying, nobody wants to buy your knock offs...

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firetext

01/10/11 at 1:14 am

That's it, life guards are going to get fat now...