Beach Patrols Go High Tech to Boost Safety

Surf life savers will have a high-tech assistant on patrol with them this summer – thanks to a Queensland company pioneering new image processing technology.

Treasurer and Minister for Employment and Economic Development Andrew Fraser said Gold Coast-based software developer CoastalCOMS had signed a deal with Surf Life Saving Queensland to upgrade 22 monitoring cameras at beaches from Palm Beach to Palm Cove.

The technology upgrades will enable more comprehensive monitoring of beach conditions and the location of swimmers.

“It’s great to see a Queensland company developing solutions of great public benefit – lifesavers will now have access to real-time information on beach conditions as well as the ability to monitor changes and risks over time and plan accordingly,” Mr Fraser said.

“I’m pleased to say that thanks to $1 million in Smart State Funding in 2008, CoastalCOMS was able to fast-track a great idea and turn it into a great product that is now going to help save lives.

“Our lifesavers do an amazing job – this technology will help them to do it better.

“This information will be coordinated at regional monitoring stations and provide access to a wide range of information on beach conditions.”

Surf Life Saving Queensland’s Lifesaving Services Manager George Hill said the deal would help the organisation, which has been trialling the technology on the Gold Coast, achieve its vision of zero preventable injuries or deaths on Queensland beaches.

“These cameras will help us to make better use of our resources,” he said.

“We’ll know who’s in the water and where they are – this technology will be a significant addition to local knowledge and experience.”

Mr Hill said the information available via the cameras would help lifesavers manage risks on the beach.

“We can see at a glance just what the surf conditions are – we can identify likely black spots and plan for that accordingly,” he said.

CoastalCOMS R&D Manager Chris Lane said the real value of the technology was in the software development.

“These aren’t just surveillance cameras – they are the foundation of a comprehensive system of monitoring and analysis that gives real time information on beach conditions as well as the ability to monitor changes and risks over time and plan accordingly,” he said.

“Lifesavers will have access to information about break zones, wave height, waterline movement, erosion, beach populations and general conditions, with more applications being developed over time.

“The general public can also log into our website to quickly access beach and surf conditions along the coast.”

Cameras will be located at the following beaches. Monitors will be located in regional monitoring stations in radio contact with life savers.

1 Peregian Beach
2 Sunshine Beach
3 Marcoola
4 Maroochydore
5 Point Lookout
6 Gold Coast Seaway
7 Seaworld
8 Miami
9 Rainbow Beach
10 Noosa Bar
11 Kawana
12 Palm Beach (High)  
13 Main Beach (Southport)
14 Surfers Paradise
15 Palm Cove
16 Coolum
17 Narrowneck (High )
18 Currumbin
19 Alma Bay
20 Mooloolaba
21 Kings Beach
22 Burleigh Heads (High)