Drones and AI Improve 'EMILY' Lifesaver Robot for Large-Scale Water Rescues
The Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard, or EMILY, is called into action by lifeguards and emergency response teams around the world for water rescues. With support from the National Science Foundation , researchers from Texas A&M University are developing some software 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. They 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.