In the 21st century, computers can be found everywhere. They exist in our cars, in our pockets, in our refrigerators, and now even in our watches. They are an essential part of our society, and without them the world we know would be very different. There are some people who are worried by this, and wonder if our increasing dependence on computers can have its pitfalls. While that may or may not be a valid fear, the positives of using computers have become more and more apparent. We all know the use of computers has allowed our productivity to grow, but not many people are familiar with another positive aspect of them: saving lives.
It is a nice summer day in Bangor, North Wales on August
24th, 2005. A girl and her family decides to go to the swimming pool in town
for a day of relaxation. The pool is 110 feet long, and is 12.5 feet deep at
the deep end, making it one of the deepest pools in Wales. While swimming
in the deep end, the girl suddenly sinks to the bottom of the deep end of the
pool. An alarm is sounded. This alerts the lifeguard, and he is able to save
the girl.
Who noticed the girl and sounded the alarm? It was not her family or other swimmers in the pool. In fact, it was not a human at all. Two years earlier, the Gwynedd Council installed a system in the pool called Poseidon, which is a computer designed to detect drownings in pools and alert any lifeguards on duty. Poseidon noticed her immobilized body at the bottom of the pool and then alerted the lifeguard. The lifeguard on duty was able to resuscitate her, she was taken to a hospital, and later made a full recovery.
According to the website for Poseidon, the system has saved dozens of lives in swimming pools across Europe and North America, and that number is only continuing to grow. Due to the loud, crowded, and humid atmosphere of indoor pools, even with a lifeguard on duty it is still not possible for him or her to notice every thing that is happening in the pool. Even while keeping full attention, it is still possible for a drowning to go unnoticed in the crowd of swimmers. Thanks to computers like Poseidon, this becomes less of a worry. This is just one of many examples of how our increased usage of computers is positively influencing our society, and we can expect to see more stories like this as time goes on and more similar technologies are developed to save lives.
-Erik B.
Sources:
"Poseidon Computer-Aided Drowning Detection System, Helps Lifeguard Rescue Drowning Girl in Bangor Swimming Pool, North Wales on August 24th 2005." Poseidon Computer-Aided Drowning Detection System, Helps Lifeguard Rescue Drowning Girl In... PR Newswire, 31 Aug. 2005. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.
Poseidon Graphic. Digital image. Poséidon - Le Système. Vision IQ, 2 July 2013. Web. 4 Oct. 2015.
Ranger, Steve. "Computer Saves Drowning Girl - CNET." CNET. CNET, 2 Sept. 2005. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.
http://www.poseidon.fr/fr/news.html
Who noticed the girl and sounded the alarm? It was not her family or other swimmers in the pool. In fact, it was not a human at all. Two years earlier, the Gwynedd Council installed a system in the pool called Poseidon, which is a computer designed to detect drownings in pools and alert any lifeguards on duty. Poseidon noticed her immobilized body at the bottom of the pool and then alerted the lifeguard. The lifeguard on duty was able to resuscitate her, she was taken to a hospital, and later made a full recovery.
 |
| Graphic showing how the Poseidon system works (in French). |
According to the website for Poseidon, the system has saved dozens of lives in swimming pools across Europe and North America, and that number is only continuing to grow. Due to the loud, crowded, and humid atmosphere of indoor pools, even with a lifeguard on duty it is still not possible for him or her to notice every thing that is happening in the pool. Even while keeping full attention, it is still possible for a drowning to go unnoticed in the crowd of swimmers. Thanks to computers like Poseidon, this becomes less of a worry. This is just one of many examples of how our increased usage of computers is positively influencing our society, and we can expect to see more stories like this as time goes on and more similar technologies are developed to save lives.
-Erik B.
Sources:
"Poseidon Computer-Aided Drowning Detection System, Helps Lifeguard Rescue Drowning Girl in Bangor Swimming Pool, North Wales on August 24th 2005." Poseidon Computer-Aided Drowning Detection System, Helps Lifeguard Rescue Drowning Girl In... PR Newswire, 31 Aug. 2005. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.
Poseidon Graphic. Digital image. Poséidon - Le Système. Vision IQ, 2 July 2013. Web. 4 Oct. 2015.
Ranger, Steve. "Computer Saves Drowning Girl - CNET." CNET. CNET, 2 Sept. 2005. Web. 04 Oct. 2015.
http://www.poseidon.fr/fr/news.html
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