Duncan Winsbury, a former station manager at the Fire & Rescue Service in Derbyshire, England, set out to build a robot that could find and retrieve cold-water drowning victims fast. Winsbury explained his vision to Jesse Rodocker, the co-founder of Seattle robot-maker SeaBotix, and the duo made SARbot, upgrading a shoebox-size remotely operated sub typically used to salvage shipwrecks. The robot transmits sonar and video data to land via a cable. Rescuers then can use its arm to latch onto a victim and haul both him and the ’bot in like a lobster trap. The SARbot system offers rapid setup (less than 4 minutes). Once deployed the SARbot is flown along the surface to the approximate sighting. There it dives while viewing real time the video and high resolution imaging sonar on one big screen. As the robot dives the operator rotates the unit to pan for hopeful acquisition of the drowning person. Once located, the SARbot travels to the victim until visual is possible where the limb grasping jaws are able to attach to the person. Once attached the person is pulled to the surface with the incredibly strong tether where medical attention can begin. All this is possible without putting anyone in the water or in harm's way. Simple to operate and setup by two persons. Impressed by SARbot’s performance, U.K. officials have shown interest in purchasing a fleet, as have officials in Seattle and Chicago. For more information please visit: http://www.seabotix.com/products/sarbot.htm
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