EMILY devices transport flotation devices to struggling swimmers

Carlton Proctor | 5/26/2021

Never miss a Feature: Subscribe to Florida Trend

Panama City Beach lifeguards will get some extra help this summer. The city’s Fire and Rescue Department recently teamed up with Gulf Coast State College to host a joint training exercise with unmanned, remotely operated water-rescue vehicles to improve safety and reduce response time to swimmers needing help.

Called EMILY — short for Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard — the crafts are equipped with sonar technology, can skim across the water at about 35 mph and are about half the size of a small canoe. Wil Spivey, the city’s beach safety director, says EMILY devices will allow crews to quickly transport flotation devices to struggling swimmers before a lifeguard could reach them.

This story also features expert opinions, business briefs and people in the news: Leonardo Helicopters; William Bullock; Eman El-Sheikh

Want to read the whole article?
Select from the following options:

ACCESS NOW Instant Access for Existing Digital Subscribers DIGITAL ISSUE Purchase a single DIGITAL copy of this issue SUBSCRIBEPurchase a one year PRINT, DIGITAL or ALL ACCESS Subscription PRINT SERVICESPurchase single PRINT copy or ADD digital access to a PRINT subscription

Tags: Technology/Innovation, Northwest, Feature

Florida hospitals: Building boom

College crime surging back to pre-COVID levels. Here's the crime at Florida colleges, universities

Florida insurance market full of ‘low quality' companies, study finds

Sunshine State manufacturing is a powerhouse, rivals tourism

For SUBSCRIBERS

READ THE April Issue » Access An Issue

FLORIDA TREND MAGAZINE

· LAST MONTH'S ISSUE · SUBSCRIBE NOW! · BUY A SINGLE ISSUE · GET DIGITAL ACCESS

Florida Business News

Will seaweed on Florida beaches be bad in 2024? Here's the latest outlook
Remember the blob? Just over a year ago, Florida beaches were inundated by a smelly, irritating seaweed known as sargassum. Will the same thing happen in 2024?
Panhandle students get pipeline to construction jobs at Career Days
The fourth-annual Construction Career Days event brought together more than 1,000 high school students from four counties to introduce them to the various career paths available across the construction industry.
Masonite shareholders sue to block $3.9B deal on claims of self-dealing, faulty info
Three Masonite International Corp. shareholders filed lawsuits to block the Tampa-based manufacturer’s $3.9 billion sale to Owens Corning.
A hotel, hundreds of homes and retail in the Ag Reserve? A proposal is in the pipeline
Another mixed-use development may be coming to part of Palm Beach County’s Agricultural Reserve, one of the few swaths of relatively open land left in all of South Florida.
Orange County ramps up $100 million in transportation work after tax effort suspended
Orange County has started work on several transportation projects in a $100 million initiative. The progress comes on the heels of the county commission tabling the effort to get a transportation sales tax on the 2024 ballot.