VIDEO: From hours to minutes. Thatโs how much time could potentially be reduced on water rescues in Lake Oswego with the help of a new tool using artificial intelligence. The Lake Oswego Fire Department recently obtained an AquaEye, a handheld scanner that uses the latest artificial intelligence and ultrasound technology to scan the water for humans.
They won the $6,000 needed to purchase the device through a contest run by Citycounty Insurance Services, in which they pitched their need for the device through an explanatory video. Battalion Chief Greg Barnum said the Corbett Fire Department is the only other fire agency he knows in the region that has the device, and he knows the Clackamas County Sheriffโs Office recently purchased one as well.
He demonstrated the device in the Willamette River, submerging it in the water, scanning it 180 degrees, and revealing the screen. โXโs mean thereโs possible bodies,โ Barnum said. Though they have not yet used the device for any real calls, Barnum said he knows that it has saved lives in other areas of the United States.
โItโs a gamechanger, it truly is for the water rescue,โ he said. โItโs going to change peopleโs lives. It helps find victims so much quicker, keeps our rescuers in the water less.โ Barnum used to be on the fire departmentโs dive team himself, and he said when he first started 25 years ago, they averaged between 10 and 15 water rescue calls a year. Now, itโs about 30 calls a year.
