2 minute read
Lifesavers Take to the Skies
Surf Life Saving NSW has had a long association with aviation over its 112-year history – operating both fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters for search and rescue and marine creature surveillance. Now a new breed of ‘dry lifesaver’ is being trained to use unmanned aerial vehicle (drone) technology to help keep beachgoers safe on the NSW coastline.
In 2018 Surf Life Saving NSW became a gazetted emergency service organisation. Volunteers can be asked to respond to calls for assistance alongside police, ambulance and other emergency service organisations.
To enhance its capability, SLSNSW has established an extensive Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) program to assist with beach safety, coastal surveillance, surf sports event management and search and rescue. UAVs, or drones as they’re more commonly known, have quickly become an integral part of Surf Life Saving operations.
In December 2018, Surf Life Saving Australia partnered with Westpac to launch the Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Drone Program. This saw 35 drones take to the skies across the NSW coastline as part of Australia’s first comprehensive approach to search and rescue using innovative drone technology.
The Westpac Lifesaver Rescue Drones are used by surf lifesavers and lifeguards to support rescue operations along Australia’s coastline and assist with critical response surveillance during emergencies.
In addition to search and rescue operations, SLSNSW has partnered with the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) for marine creature surveillance and operates 30 UAVs through this partnership. An additional 25 training UAVs will be added to the SLSNSW fleet during 2020.
UAVs are now used extensively in surf lifesaving patrols. The UAVs used are in the sub-2kg category and incorporate a high-definition camera and loudspeaker. Operating in almost 50 locations, SLSNSW currently has almost 70 drones working constantly along the NSW coastline.
“We initially introduced drones as a tool to complement all our other assets and resources. With the increase in technology, they’re becoming an essential part of our search and rescue operations,” said Paul Hardy, UAV Operations Coordinator and Chief Remote Pilot.
With over 70 drones in the air along the NSW coastline, keeping track of their exact location can be challenging. SLSNSW employs a number of flight tracking technologies including AVCRM (a cloudbased regulatory and compliance portal for all UAV operations) and AIRDATA (a cloud-based system to provide additional visibility to the UAV team on flight compliance and aircraft diagnostics) - which is used to track and log all flights.
Surf Life Saving operates in both the Commercial Excluded and Remote Operators Certificate (ReOC) categories and has advanced RePL trained pilots in many locations. It adheres to all the Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) safety requirements.
