Afraid of drowning in a swimming pool? You shouldn’t be. The Poseidon, an underwater surveillance system, can detect problems and immediately activate beepers to alert lifeguards. The image and location of the drowning person is instantly captured on the CCTV cameras, and a life is saved.
Rewind and fast forward
Once upon a time, people drowning in pools mostly, well, drowned. It was always too late before they were discovered, often already floating lifeless or unconscious. A drowning person probably just slipped without a noise, without the dramatic hand-waving that they do in the movies. Real life drowning is not theatrical and often goes unnoticed because the person just goes under without warning.
The terror of losing a loved one to drowning is something we want to avoid, so you stand watch over your children while lifeguards scan the pool or beach with their binoculars for unusual movements. But still, lapses can happen in the blink of an eye.
Accidental drowning is the 7th leading cause of death for all age groups, the second leading cause of death for children in the 1-14 years age bracket. Drowning can happen at the beach, your home pool, a bathtub or bucket filled with water, or even in soup.
When surveillance is a security, not an intrusion
The welcome arrival of underwater surveillance has changed how we look at surveillance systems. In this case, we understand that when it comes to matters of life and death in very familiar places, like the public and home pool, we dare not object.
True, there is a lot of debate surrounding surveillance security. But debacles aside, the invention of electronic surveillance, including CCTV, has thwarted dangerous intentions. Now the grandfather of all surveillance is here.
This CCTV surveillance is not your regular home and office electronic spies. These are underwater devices designed to detect movement and problems in public and private swimming pools. The Poseidon is a network of cameras that sweeps its unblinking eyes above and below the surface of the swimming pool.
The Poseidon has already saved a life, that of 18-year-old Jean Francois LeRoy of Ancenis, France. Without warning, LeRoy, who was underwater practicing apnea swimming, drowned without warning. The unblinking eyes found him in milliseconds and alerted the lifeguards with incessant beeps. Thus, he was saved in time before brain damage set in.
The Poseidon CCTV is the perfect tool for lifeguards. With this in place, lifeguards increase their chances of saving lives and averting the irreversible damage that may be caused by drowning incidents.
Swimming and safety measures
Still, we can’t be so sure at all times. Here are some safety tips for at home and public pools:
1. The home pool should be high-fenced so children cannot clamber over it.
2. Cover the pool with netting.
3. Do not leave buckets filled or even half-filled with water. Very young children can drown within seconds in buckets.
4. Do not rely on your children’s swim wings, they might slip off unnoticed.
5. Do not also depend on your child’s swimming lessons to save himself. The child will panic and forget all lessons.
6. Never swim alone.
As a further precaution, when swimming in public pools, inquire if there is a CCTV system in and above the swimming pool, just to be sure. You’ll be confident knowing these are around because these cameras never blink.