It’s a toasty summer day. You finally managed to slip away to have some fun on the water with friends and family. As you float, basking in the sun, something suddenly goes wrong and you find yourself struggling to swim. Just as you’re about to go under, something appears beside you to offer assistance. You grab hold and in a shockingly quick time, you’re pulled ashore to safety. Was this some sort of Olympic-grade athlete who saved your life? Nope. Did a buxom blond or buff man harkening back to Baywatch rescue you? Nope. You owe your life to E.M.I.LY. Or in other words, to the Emergency Integrated Lifesaving LanYard.
Hydronalix, the company that created E.M.I.LY., gave this unmanned, remote-controlled aquatic robot impressive capabilities. E.M.I.L.Y. can move at a max speed of 40 MPH, do a 5 MPH patrol for a total of 518 minutes, cruise at its max speed for 35 minutes, and can carry five to seven people. This 25-pound dynamo won Popular Science’s Security Grand Award in 2010 and was named one of the top 50 inventions of 2010 by Time magazine. Hydronalix has also received a $60,000 federal grant through the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Defense to build and disperse EMILY. These EMILY units, priced at $9,950 each, have been picked up for more than use by the lifeguards in places like Malibu and Panama City.
Hydronalix created a sonar attachment and app for E.M.I.L.Y., which has been used to look for things such as the Star of Scotland off Santa Monica Pier. A larger version of E.M.I.L.Y. has been created for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to act as a hurricane tracker. And E.M.I.L.Y. has joined up with the Textron Defense Systems to develop small naval surface systems for port security, coastal water operations, mine countermeasures and other military, and homeland-security missions. Check out the Reuters video below to see how the device maneuvers easily amongst the waves.
Mechanical engineer Anthony Mulligan named E.M.I.L.Y. after Emily Shane. Shane, the 13-year-old friend of his daughter, was tragically struck and killed by a vehicle on the Pacific Coast Highway. Shane made quite the impact on the Mulligan family. Along with E.M.I.LY., cards are given to every person E.M.I.LY. rescues to tell them about Shane’s story and urging the rescued to “pay it forward” with good deeds, the message of the Emily Shane Foundation.
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