{"id":481112,"date":"2025-12-30T23:38:18","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T23:38:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/481112\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T23:38:18","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T23:38:18","slug":"ai-technology-gives-swimming-pool-lifeguards-an-extra-set-of-eyes-this-summer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/481112\/","title":{"rendered":"AI technology gives swimming pool lifeguards an extra set of eyes this summer"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you have a dip in your local pool this summer, you might be watched by more than just a lifeguard.<\/p>\n

Some 120 public pools across the country are adopting new technology that can help detect when swimmers are drowning and alert staff.<\/p>\n

The AI system analyses people’s movements in the water and sends an alert to a smartwatch if it detects someone in trouble.<\/p>\n

“It gives them eyes in the back of their head,” says Duncan Hutton, City of Stirling’s recreational facilities operations coordinator.<\/p>\n

The system taps into the pool’s existing CCTV to watch if a swimmer goes underwater for too long, stops moving or appears to be struggling.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The technology does not replace lifeguards; it just helps them. (ABC News: Lauren Smith.)<\/p>\n

“This system is really a superpower and additional tool for our lifeguards \u2014 we’re not replacing anyone,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

he said.Regional kids swim skills limited by lack of pools<\/a><\/p>\n

Parents are reporting year-long waitlists for swimming lessons as drowning deaths continue to rise.<\/p>\n

“You still need the lifeguard to actually respond to the incident.”<\/p>\n

AI system has already saved lives<\/p>\n

It has been used at the Stirling Leisure-Inglewood pool in Perth for more than a year.<\/p>\n

A few months ago, the technology proved its worth.<\/p>\n

“Our lifeguard got notified initially \u2026 luckily, during the rescue we had a member of the public actually swim over the top,” Mr Hutton said.<\/p>\n

“But by having this system, our lifeguard was there pretty much a few seconds after that and was able to get the rest of the team to assist in the rescue very, very quickly.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

RJ Houston says the AI system alerts lifeguards to incidents they may have missed. (ABC News: Darryl Torpy)<\/p>\n

Royal Life Saving Australia (RLSA) said the system had also averted a tragic outcome at a pool in Sydney, where someone was underneath a boom \u2014 a type of moveable bulkhead in the water.<\/p>\n

“The system alerted the lifeguard twice \u2014 the first time [they] had a look and they couldn’t see anyone and they walked away,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

RLSA’s RJ Houston said.<\/p>\n

He said the system prompted the lifeguard a second time to go back and take another look, having analysed multiple overhead views from different angles.<\/p>\n

Mr Houston said the lifeguard was able to get in the water, pull the person out and avoid an adverse outcome.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The AI system blends in seamlessly with the existing CCTV at public pools. (ABC News: Lauren Smith)<\/p>\n

“So, that’s an example where the human limitation of what we can see through refraction, through glare, through line of sight barriers are significant in these environments,” he said.<\/p>\n

AI technology makes pools safer, eases stress<\/p>\n

Mr Houston expects the technology will become the norm in Australia.<\/p>\n

The organisation is studying the impact in a research partnership with Lynxight, a popular brand of AI drowning-prevention tool.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

The “chronic unease” of lifeguards is being taken away by the new technology, experts say. (ABC News: Lauren Smith)<\/p>\n

“We’re already finding from our research that lifeguards are finding that it’s easing their stress,”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

RJ Houston said.<\/p>\n

“They have what we call chronic unease, where they come into work, and they’re constantly in a state of elevated stress because of the risk that someone could drown on that shift.<\/p>\n

‘You’re going to be a statistic’<\/a><\/p>\n

Every year,\u00a0people drown while trying to rescue someone else.\u00a0Lifesavers are warn to think twice before diving in to help.<\/p>\n

“And so having this extra layer of support, we’re already seeing \u2026 that lifeguards are feeling more confident, pool managers are feeling more confident, everyone is sleeping a little bit better at night the night before a shift.”<\/p>\n

Professor Paul Salmon, from the University of the Sunshine Coast, said it was one of the “more positive uses of AI”, but he did have some hesitations.<\/p>\n

“The intention is to assist humans in doing their job and it seems to be a technology that is working and can work,” he said.<\/p>\n

\"People<\/p>\n

In the end, pool safety comes down to learning how to swim properly. (ABC News: Lauren Smith)<\/p>\n

“I think there needs to be careful thought about how we manage some of those associated emergent risks as people increasingly use the technology.<\/p>\n

“So, you know, how are we going to prevent over-reliance on the technology? How are we going to prevent skill degradation in lifeguards, in detecting people who are drowning in a pool?”<\/p>\n

Royal Life Saving says it is committed to ensuring there are appropriate systems in place “so complacency doesn’t set in”.<\/p>\n

It has created a training program for lifeguards that will soon roll out nationwide.<\/p>\n

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