UAE students develop life-saving AI system for real-time drowning detection

Students at the United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Zayed University have developed an AI-powered drowning detection system with a 99.7% accuracy rate, marking a major advancement in water safety technology, reported Khaleej Times.

The project, led by Hamad Alzaabi, Saif Alzaabi, and Majed Alhammadi under the supervision of Dr. Sara Kohail, uses AI and computer vision to detect aquatic distress in real time, ensuring swift interventions.

The team was inspired by World Health Organization (WHO) statistics reporting more than 236,000 drowning deaths annually, especially among children.

They noted that many current systems depend on wearable sensors or reactive measures, which have limitations. “We wanted to create a real-time solution that enhances safety without changing swimmer behavior,” they explained.

The system’s accuracy is driven by a custom dataset of 69,000 manually annotated frames capturing various swimming behaviors and simulated drowning scenarios.

The students recorded high-resolution underwater footage in controlled environments and labeled each frame, as public datasets fell short of their needs. They plan to make the dataset publicly available to encourage further research.

Challenges such as refraction, motion blur, and lighting variability initially hindered detection accuracy.

By refining their model and dataset, the team enhanced performance and optimized the system to run on commercially available GPUs, enabling both cloud-based and on-premise deployment without the need for expensive hardware.

The system integrates with pool surveillance networks and offers real-time alerts, live video feeds, and incident tracking through a web-based dashboard.

Its accessibility makes it suitable for lifeguards, pool managers, and safety personnel across different facilities.

The students are now seeking funding to conduct further real-world testing and pursue commercialization.

“This project demonstrates AI’s ability to save lives,” they said, emphasizing their hope to inspire others and contribute to the UAE’s vision of becoming a global leader in AI and smart solutions.