MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – Myrtle Beach is hiring four new lifeguards to help out this summer, but they aren’t human lifeguards.
They’re actually robots designed to help save lives in the water.
The city of Myrtle Beach is buying the fire department four robotic lifeguards to help with beach patrols this summer. The city announced the purchase in a Facebook post Tuesday morning.
Firefighters say the robots will allow them to respond quicker, where every second counts out in the ocean.
EMILY, which stands for “emergency integrated lifesaving lanyard,” is the robot lifeguard Myrtle Beach firefighters will use this summer to help keep people safe on the beach. It’s a remote-controlled buoy that can hold up to six people.
Myrtle Beach firefighters tested out EMILY earlier in March and were impressed with its top speed of nearly 35 miles per hour.
“An individual can take this out from the back of the truck, toss it into the water and then have it going out there very quickly,” said Lt. Jonathan Evans with the Myrtle Beach Fire Department.
The city is spending $56,201 to buy four EMILYs, which are made by Hydronalix in Arizona.
A Hydronalix spokesperson says Myrtle Beach is the first place in South Carolina to buy the robot lifeguards.
“It keeps your rescuers where they need to be, so they can keep everyone safe, rather than just focusing on the ones that are headed for trouble,” said Hydronalix sales director Paige Day.
Firefighters who aren’t trained to swim and rescue someone can use the remote control to respond very quickly.
“We only have so many people who are trained lifeguards, ocean rescue swimmers, so we do have some that are not,” Lt. Evans said. “So for these individuals who can’t get in the water, this gives them an opportunity to be even more helpful in the water. They can take these, they can deploy them themselves, and them operate them before our swimmer can get out there or while we’re trying to deploy a jetski or something like that.”
EMILY is four feet long and weighs less than 25 pounds. It can travel more than six miles on a single battery charge.
Lt. Evans says firefighters will be able to respond efficiently and quickly, with swimmers, jetskis, boats, and now, EMILYs.
“It’s just another tool we’re going to be able to utilize,” he said. “We’re going to have more of those non-swimmers on the beach, having those extra patrols. We’ll still have a swimmer per patrol.”
Lt. Evans says the fire department should have the four EMILYs in about a month and they’ll be ready to help protect the beaches this summer.