A Novel Method for Recognition, Localization, and Alarming to Prevent Swimmers from Drowning

With the recent statistics from a growing number of fatalities due to drowning in swimming pools. Studies show that the errors resulting in drowning are mainly from a lack of focus from lifeguards and guardians, if they are present, especially within large and underlit swimming pools. In this paper, a novel method allowing precise positioning, efficient identification, and timely alarms to help rescue swimmers from drowning are proposed. The purpose of this study is to mainly focus on determining whether swimmers are drowning or not while they are in the pool. Ultrasonic transmitters and receivers are used to determine the swimmer position. Hydraulic pressure detectors are also used to determine how deep the swimmer is going. The hydraulic data is transmitted wirelessly to be processed. Hence, to confirm the efficiency of this proposed method, an acoustic simulator has been used to analyze the distance information obtained by the ultrasonic waves. The results verify that the proposed algorithm can precisely calculate the 3D position of the swimmer. Then the swimmer's movement information can be analyzed to determine whether the swimmer is drowning or not. If drowning is detected, the system will set the alarm.