Multimedia Gallery - Water rescue robot EMILY gets some help from the sky

February 26, 2018

Water rescue robot EMILY gets some help from the sky

If you haven't needed the services of the Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard, or EMILY, count yourself lucky. EMILY is called into action by lifeguards and emergency response teams around the world for water rescues. With support from the National Science Foundation (NSF), roboticist Robin Murphy of Texas A and M and her colleagues are developing some upgrades to make EMILY and other rescue robots "smarter" for large-scale water rescues, such as coming to the aid of a capsized ferry or water taxi. Among other things, the researchers are working with tethered drones to create an "eye in the sky" combined with onboard thermal sensing to autonomously navigate EMILY to a cluster of people.

Credit: National Science Foundation

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