The mayor of the U.S. city of New York, Eric Adams, a well-known lover of technology, has revealed that drones, these small, unmanned planes, will be used to assist beach guards at Coney Island as part of a pilot program that will begin this summer.

Journalists Dana Rubinstein and Corey Kilgannon reported the story making explicit that, among the hundreds of thousands of people who flock to Coney Island and other New York City public beaches each summer, there are many who cannot swim. And, besides that, many of them bathe even if the beach guards have already left.

This summer, swimmers having trouble in the water in the Coney Island area may encounter not only a young person who can save their lives with an orange swimsuit, but also the help, from the sky, of a large insect-like device that delivers a raft.

This drone with a raft is the latest in a series of devices promoted by the mayor as a way to improve the lives of citizens in New York. Eric Adams had also previously deployed a robot to patrol the Times Square subway station and promoted a lasso-like device to restrain violent or psychotic people.

Although there are still doubts about their operation, the drones will begin flying on an experimental basis this summer in the area considered an entertainment mecca on the south shore of the Brooklyn borough. It should also be added that drone operators will use a powerful loudspeaker attached to their body to communicate with both swimmers in distress and lifeguards attempting the rescue operation.

New York City may be known for many things, but it also boasts 14 miles of urban beaches, from Coney Island to Brooklyn and Rockaway Beach in the Bronx and South Beach on Staten Island.

City officials have long struggled to improve water safety at public beaches, notorious for strong tides, a high percentage of inexperienced swimmers, and poor professional skills among lifeguard service personnel. Four people drowned on city beaches in 2023, all while lifeguards were already off duty, and three in 2022. However, there have been years with more fatalities, such as in 2019 with seven fatalities on Rockaway beaches alone.

Pending the pilot scheme’s entry into operation, Police Department deputy commissioner for operations Kaz Daughtry praised the drones’ ability to drop flotation devices to swimmers in distress.

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