Interesting. The main use case is getting a flotation device out to the person quickly to bridge the time it takes for the lifeguard to arrive. A secondary use

Interesting. The main use case is getting a flotation device out to the person quickly to bridge the time it takes for the lifeguard to arrive. A secondary use case is shark monitoring, though given the rarity of shark attacks that seems more questionable. The oldest article I can find discussing using drones to assist lifeguards is from June 2015: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/06/25/drones-may-help-lifeguards-beach-rescues/29295849/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/06/25/drones... This all sounds pretty sane: > "In extreme conditions like red flag, big surf, high winds, where you normally have trouble getting out to someone, you would be able to use it," said Dan George, the chief of Long Branch's beach patrol. George said drones could potentially be flown out at long range, a mile or two, to reach distressed stand-up paddle boarders, kite surfers or capsized boats. The cameras on drones could help locate submerged persons quicker, while microphones and speakers could enable lifeguards to talk to a person in the water if they were responsive. Some models can even deliver flotation devices. [...] George said drones could also be used to monitor the beach in the event of a shark sighting, like Seal Beach. [...] The price of the drones Long Branch looked at ranged from $1,300 to $7,000.