Development of A Smart Rescue Communication System for Drowning Personnel

Recently, there is an alarming increase in the number of deaths resulting from late rescue of drowning personnel falling overboard. Most mechanisms deployed are faced with the inability to detect the exact location of the drowning person especially when completely submerged in water. This paper therefore describes the development of a smart rescue communication system for drowning personnel. The developed system considered two major activities involved in drowning- the first scenario considers when the individual is completely submerged in water and the second; when the victim is struggling to survive. Thus, water and vibration sensors are useful input devices in actualizing the work. Arduino microcontroller was also used for the control system mechanism. For drowning and drowned situations which is detected and specified by the readings from the relevant sensors, an SMS (short message system) alert is communicated to the rescue personnel’s phone indicating that there is an emergency. The exact location of the man overboard is also indicated in the SMS with the aid of the global positioning system (GPS) module. The SMS is sent at specified intervals to increase awareness of the current situation to aid fast rescue operation. The prototype is designed to be a wearable device.