WaterMap

Building AI-powered UAVs to prevent open water drowning on a global scale.

The challenge

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), drowning is the third leading cause of accidental death worldwide. Furthermore, the majority of drowning deaths occur in open areas - the sea, lakes, ponds, rivers. WaterMap’s challenge is to help drastically decrease the number of drowning or near-drowning incidents in open water through the development of a cost-effective aerial solution. Our goal is to work in collaboration with lifeguards and water police to prevent, detect in advance, and react quickly to these emergencies.

The solution

WaterMap is developing an autonomous UAV powered with cutting-edge computer vision to map nearshore waters and detect potential drowning risk. A collaborative application allows our drone to alert the nearest responsible authority if it detects a risk, such as the presence of bathers in areas of strong currents. Moreover, in case the authorities or civilians identify an individual or a group in distress, they can request support from the nearest drone, that quickly reaches the location, semi-autonomously approaching the target and dropping an inflatable safety buoy to keep it afloat until help arrives.