System, Device, and Method of Detecting Dangerous Situations

Abstract

A safety device, and more particularly a device or system of devices for detecting dangerous situations such as the act of drowning of an individual in a body of water or a child that suddenly goes missing or otherwise inactive in a defined area, and issuing a warning to others that the potential dangerous situation is taking place so that the individual can be rescued.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of monitoring a plurality of swimmers in a swimming area using a computer system comprising at least one processor and a memory, said method comprising the steps of:
 generating swimmer status data about a swimming status of each one of the plurality of swimmers using at least one camera; and   the computer system executing software instructions to perform the steps of:
 receiving the swimmer status data from the at least one camera over a communication network, 
 analyzing the swimmer status data to individually track each one of the plurality of swimmers in the swimming area, 
 analyzing the swimmer status data to determine when any one of the plurality of swimmers is in distress, and 
 triggering an alarm indication when it is determined that the swimmer is in distress. 
   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , where the alarm indication includes displaying an image of the swimmer in distress on a display. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 2 , where the alarm indication also includes displaying a location of the swimmer in distress on a display. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , where the alarm indication includes displaying a location of the swimmer in distress on a display. 
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of analyzing the swimmer status data to individually track each one of the plurality of swimmers in the swimming area includes the steps of:
 tracking a location of each one of the plurality of swimmers, and   tracking an activity level of each one of the plurality of swimmers.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the step of analyzing the swimmer status data to determine when any of the plurality of swimmers is in distress includes the steps of:
 detecting when the activity level of any one of the plurality of swimmers transitions from an active state to an inactive state, and   determining that the one of the plurality of swimmers is in distress based on said transition.   
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 1  further comprising the steps of:
 providing a sensor to provide additional swimming status data of the plurality of swimmers, and 
 analyzing the additional swimmer status data to further determine when any one of the plurality of swimmers is in distress, wherein 
 the alarm indication is triggered only when both the analysis of the swimming status data shows the one of the plurality of swimmers is in distress and the additional swimming status data also shows that the one of the plurality of swimmers is in distress. 
 
     
     
         7 . The system of  claim 6 , wherein said sensor includes a biometric sensor configured generate the additional swimmer status data including biometric data from the swimmer. 
     
     
         8 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein said biometric data includes a heart rate of the swimmer. 
     
     
         9 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein said biometric data includes data about the breathing of the swimmer. 
     
     
         10 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein said biometric data includes a temperature of the swimmer. 
     
     
         11 . The system of  claim 7 , wherein said sensor is configured to detect a motion of the swimmer. 
     
     
         12 . The system of  claim 1 , wherein said sensor is configured to detect when at least a portion of the swimmer is below water. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 1 , where the alarm indication includes zooming in on an image of the swimmer in distress on a display. 
     
     
         14 . A method of monitoring a plurality of swimmers in a swimming area using a computer system comprising at least one processor and a memory, said method comprising the steps of:
 generating swimmer status data about a swimming status of each one of the plurality of swimmers using at least one camera; and   the computer system executing software instructions to perform the steps of:
 receiving the swimmer status data from the at least one camera over a communication network, 
 tracking a location of each one of the plurality of swimmers using the swimmer status data, 
 tracking an activity level of each one of the plurality of swimmers using the swimmer status data, 
 analyzing the swimmer status data to determine when any one of the plurality of swimmers is in distress by detecting when the activity level of any one of the plurality of swimmers transitions from an active state to an inactive state, and 
 triggering an alarm indication when it is determined that the swimmer is in distress. 
   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , where the alarm indication includes displaying an image of the swimmer in distress on a display. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , where the alarm indication also includes displaying a location of the swimmer in distress on a display. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 14 , where the alarm indication includes zooming in on an image of the swimmer in distress on a display. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 13 , where the alarm indication includes displaying a location of the swimmer in distress on a display. 
     
     
         19 . A method of monitoring a plurality of swimmers in a swimming area using a computer system comprising at least one processor and a memory, said method comprising the steps of:
 generating swimmer status data about a swimming status of each one of the plurality of swimmers using at least one camera; and   the computer system executing software instructions to perform the steps of:
 receiving the swimmer status data from the at least one camera over a communication network, 
 tracking a location of each one of the plurality of swimmers using the swimmer status data, 
 tracking an activity level of each one of the plurality of swimmers using the swimmer status data, 
 analyzing the swimmer status data to determine when any one of the plurality of swimmers is in distress by detecting when the activity level of any one of the plurality of swimmers transitions from an active state to an inactive state, and 
 zooming in on an image of the swimmer that is in distress for display on a display. 
   
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 19 , further comprising the step of displaying a location of the swimmer in distress on a display.