TIRUVANANTHAPURAM : Life-buoys stacked at pools and various adventure tourism spots are a regular sight. But, how many of us know these rings can’t exactly guarantee the safety of a person? Well, things have changed for the better. The lifebuoys created by Bodkin Technology Pvt Ltd can go one step ahead and save precious lives. Nithin Murali, Jubin George Kurien and Midhun YS have made a self-propelled super buoy which can easily reach a drowning person in all marine and freshwater sources and rescue them.
“We noticed that a lot of drowning incidents happen around us and most times the lifebuoys weren’t good enough to save lives. Since we already moved into robotics last year, we decided to make an equipment that can help a drowning victim by reaching them fast, thereby exponentially increase their chances of survival,” said Nithin Murali, co-founder. The super buoy can be remotely controlled by an operator in cases of an emergency. It can reach the drowning person faster than anybody and can save the victim, without putting the lives of rescuers at risk. The motorised buoy can be remotely controlled by a person up to a range of 2 km and can be driven at a speed of up to 12 knots.
“Precision is important while using buoys. In many cases, traditional ring buoys fail to reach a drowning person on time, especially if it is thrown from a distance or a moving vessel. There is a possibility that the victim is out of throwing range. Time here is very crucial. Super buoy eliminates all these issues by reaching the victim by itself and its easy-to-use mechanism makes sure that anyone can operate the buoy, provided it is kept ready by charging it,” adds Nithin.
The buoy is also equipped with a camera with live video transmission for navigation and surveillance. The camera is aided by LED illumination in the front for night-time operation and a red backlight to help the operator maintain the correct orientation of the buoy. The buoy is GPS guided and can bring the victim from anywhere within the range with a simple back-to-home button. The super buoy cand also carry supplies to hard-to-reach areas in case of a flood where sending a boat can be risky.
The super buoy targets government agencies such as Coast Guard, Navy, Marine Police, Fire and Rescue and NDRF, besides private shipping companies and resorts.Founded by Jubin Geroge Kurien and Nithin Murali and with a five-member technical team led by Midhun Y S, Bodkin Technology Pvt Ltd is a startup working in marine robotics. The prototype of the super buoy will be launched in two months.