Technology
Smart technology is the foundation on which the Smart Beaches project rests.
Sensors and a mix of other smart infrastructure will monitor wave and swell movement to provide earlier detection of dangerous conditions. Others will monitor visitor activity to gauge which beaches and amenities are busiest at any given time.
The data these sensors collect will be transmitted to lifeguards, local councils and open data websites.
Below is an example of the technology being used on our beaches this summer.
Visitor Data
- Orion Cameras - visitor numbers and distribution
- ParaBeam - pedestrian counter
Activity Data
- Garmin Watch - lifeguard activity and stress
- Yabby GPS - Jetski and rescue board location and usage
Environmental Data
- Manly Hydraulic Lab - Nearshore wave conditions and forecast
- BoM Data - Local weatherforecast
- Weather Station - Hyperlocal weather conditions
Amenity Data
- Yindi Bins - Bin usage and capacity
- ERS EYE - Bathroom occupancy monitor
Technology
Monitoring beach conditions and visitor behaviour is important to enhance beachgoers safety. It can be difficult to keep up to date with the latest in technology and the examples where practical application has been successful.
As a part of the Smart Beaches project The University of Technology Sydney Institute for Sustainable Futures conducted a study into the “Existing and emerging technologies to enhance beach safety management” (Ruoso,L-E., Zeibot, M., and Wilmot, K., (2020). The study can be found here and has been used as a framework to structure this section in the hope that it can be added to over time.
Sensing and perception technology
This group of technology provide the eyes and ears of a system and answers questions such as “What does the world look like?”
Name
Application
Link
LIDAR
Cognition Technology
This group of technologies are like the brain of the systems that asks questions like “what is the information telling us?”
Name
Application
Link
Actuation Technology
This technology delivers information to people. It answers questions like “what is the best way to indicate current conditions?”