Shark-detecting drones to patrol Australian beaches

[rooster59]

Shark-detecting drones to patrol Australian beaches

 

A surfer carries his board into the water next to a sign declaring a shark sighting on Sydney's Manly Beach, Australia, November 24, 2015. REUTERS/David Gray/File Photo/Files

 

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Drones equipped with a shark detection system powered by artificial intelligence will start patrolling some Australian beaches from next month in a bid to improve safety.

 

The battery-powered drones will provide a live-video feed to a drone operator who then uses the shark-spotting software to identify sharks in real time and with more accuracy than the human eye.

 

Studies have shown that people have a 20-30 percent accuracy rate when interpreting data from aerial images to detect shark activity. Detection software can boost that rate to 90 percent, said Dr Nabin Sharma, a research associate at the University of Technology Sydney's School of Software.

 

"It's not about replacing human beings all together, it's about assisting human beings to get the work done in a better way with more accuracy. That's what the application is meant for," said Sharma.

 

Aerial videos of sharks from publicly available sources are used to train the system's algorithms and differentiate sharks from other marine creatures, surfers, swimmers and boats.

 

It can then tag sharks and other marine life, such as dolphins and whales, in real time.

 

Australia ranked behind only the United States in the number of unprovoked shark encounters with humans last year, according to the International Shark Attack File of the University of Florida.

 

This year, a series of shark attacks off Australia's northeast coast prompted the controversial deployment of protective nets to save lives and guard the country's reputation as a tourism destination. Environmentalists say nets can harm wildlife.

 

The university began working on the shark detection project with Little Ripper Group, a commercial UAV company, in 2016.

 

Little Ripper drones equipped with the shark-spotter system will be able to warn swimmers through a megaphone when a shark is detected. The drones will patrol various beaches in Australia from September onwards.

 

Dr Paul Scully-Power, a co-founder of the Little Ripper Group, said a life raft and emergency beacon can be dropped from the drone and the company is developing an electronic shark repellent.

 

"I guess the world has learnt many years ago - defence in depth is the way to go. So this is one of the layers of the depth," said Scully-Power.

 

 

-- © Copyright Reuters 2017-08-26

[impulse]

Buddies who regularly fly helicopters to offshore platforms claim that nobody would ever go in the water if they knew how many huge sharks are swimming between them and the shore.

 

Scary as that is, I figure I'm good if I survived the drive down to the beach.  And hope I survive the drive home when tempers are shorter and the beer coolers are empty, but not the beer drinkers.

 

 

[tonray]

Perhaps we can modify the technology for users of ThaiFriendly ?

[impulse]

2 hours ago, rooster59 said:

Dr Paul Scully-Power, a co-founder of the Little Ripper Group, said a life raft and emergency beacon can be dropped from the drone and the company is developing an electronic shark repellent.

 

Forgetting the shark repellent, dropping a life raft could be useful in LOS where rip tides seem to be washing tourists away, occasionally to their deaths.

 

Even a small drone dropping a lightweight flotation device could extend the reach of the lifeguards and save lives.

 

Edited August 26, 2017 by impulse

[55Jay]

These dudes down in Baja didn't need a drone for this one. 

 

And to Car720, yup, there be other critters to think about besides sharks.  Second guy in below video learns that the hard way around the 6:00 minute mark.

 

 

Edited August 26, 2017 by 55Jay

[tandor]

6 hours ago, car720 said:

Sharks are a truly scary thing but for me they only make up 1% of the reason why I won't ever go back in the sea.  Coming from Australia I can assure you that sharks are the least of the lethal entities that you will or can encounter.

...an old saying..more people die from falling coconuts than shark attacks.