Artificial intelligence helping lifeguards save more lives
Places Leisure is one of the first leisure operators in the UK to introduce a new AI-driven drowning prevention system designed to support lifeguards and increase swimming pool safety.
Installed at Tewkesbury Leisure Centre, which the social enterprise manages on behalf of Tewkesbury Borough Council, the system gives lifeguards an unprecedented range of vision.
The new system from assisted lifeguard technology company Lynxight has been brought to the UK and Ireland by the Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK), working in collaboration to support swimming pool operators in the UK and Ireland. Installed in nine countries and rigorously tested to meet the stringent needs of UK pool operators, the advanced pool safety service uses AI to identify and prevent potential incidents while improving pool safety and operations.
Lynxight is a pool safety and analytics service designed to manage and mitigate aquatic risks. AI software connects to standard overhead security cameras to deliver real-time alerts on drowning and other water distress situations.
Via the lifeguard’s smartwatch, the item vibrates and sounds an alarm when the system identifies an incident. The location of the incident appears on the watch, as well as the time since the start of the incident. There are three alerts:
- blue – advisory, eg. overcrowding
- yellow – a pool user may be in distress
- red – dangerous submersion
In addition to the alerts and safety capabilities, the system provides real-time and recorded data, including the number of users in each pool, the location of users and the record of any alerts that the system creates.
The data is useful to operators, helping them make more informed decisions about pool operations, including pool timetable, usage and energy to reduce costs and run the pool more efficiently.
The system also provides a heat map showing the location of people in the pool, giving managers greater insight into capacity rates and utilization, and potentially identifying new opportunities for activities in underutilised spaces to generate revenue.
The benefits of AI are being felt across all aspects of modern life. As one of the UK’s leading swimming pool water safety organisations, RLSS UK has been at the forefront of supporting pool operators with qualifications, guidance, consultancy, and expert training to meet evolving water safety challenges for over 30 years.
RLSS UK spent several years investigating the benefits of technology and AI for lifeguarding and lifesaving before partnering with Lynxight to bring the solution to the UK.
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