Can you throw a lifebuoy over a kilometre away to a swimmer in distress? Apparently not...... But you can fly the lifebuoy to them with the TY-3R flying lifebuoy drone. Produced by Chinese drone company Didiok Makings, the TY-3R is essentially a hybrid of a quadcopter and a lifebuoy.
The idea is that when rescuers on shore spot a struggling swimmer, they will activate the drone, fly to the swimmer, and land the drone on the surface, which the swimmer can use as a flotation device. Slower human rescuers will then take a boat on the water to bring the swimmer back to shore.
Allegedly, the TY-3R with a composite fuselage weighs less than 5 kg
Simply press a button on the included joystick remote control and the TY-3R is ready to take off and provides the pilot with a real-time view on takeoff with a tiltable onboard 720p camera.
Once the swimmer is rescued, the drone is no longer needed to float, and at the touch of a button, the plane automatically flies back to the GPS coordinates of the take-off site - the helicopter can both take off from the water and land on the surface.
If radio contact is lost, the TY-3R also flies back to the operator
According to Didiok, the TY-3R can float up to two adults, has a communication range of 1.1 kilometers (3,609 feet), a top speed of 47 kilometers (29 miles), and runs for more than 10 minutes per charge. It is claimed to weigh less than 5 kilograms (11 pounds) and is fully IP68 waterproof. This means that it can be soaked in water up to 1 meter (3.3 feet) deep for 30 minutes.
The TY-3R shuts down its engine when it descends to the surface, and the propeller is also fitted with protective netting to further protect the swimmer's fingers and other appendages. It is now available for purchase through the Didiok Makings website for $11803. You can see it in action in the video below, starting at approximately 01:05.
Not surprisingly, this is not the first drone we have seen to rescue swimmers in distress. The Pars, Little Ripper, Auxdron, and Project Riptide systems can also do this, but they all do so by dropping a separate flotation device downward.