The first neural network was conceived of by Warren McCulloch and Walter Pitts in 1943. They wrote a seminal paper on how neurons may work and modeled their ideas by creating a simple neural network using electrical circuits.
The artificial intelligence uses frame by frame comparison to detect an object that was not previously there or the disappearance of an object from the field of view. It learns what ‘normal’ looks like and spots differences. In ‘Supervised’ mode, alerts to objects such as pool toys or outdoor furniture being moved will be suppressed to avoid false alarms. When you leave the pool area a new ‘normal’ is established.
By using a combination of two cameras, one to identify individuals as they enter the designated area and the other to monitor the whole area, the artificial intelligence can keep track of an identified individual for as long as they remain within the field of view. Both cameras are connected to the same processor so the first can pass the identity to the second, allowing the second to continue showing the identity of the individual even when their face is not visible to the camera.
In case you are concerned about privacy, be assured that nobody sees the feed from your camera unless an emergency is detected and not acknowledged locally. Instead, the artificial intelligence identifies key points on the human body such as shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees and ankles. It uses the relative position of these key points to determine the pose of the body and has been trained to recognise poses that indicate danger.
‘Supervised’ mode is designed for use when swimming is planned, with a responsible adult present. It won’t bother you with constant alerts as people enter the area but the system will still raise the alarm if someone disappears underwater for longer than you have deemed acceptable.
We strongly encourage use of a Pool Angel lanyard during such sessions so that there is no doubt over who has assumed responsibility for keeping watch over children in the pool. Child drownings can happen even with multiple adults present if they all assume that someone else is paying attention. Pool Angel offers you an added layer of protection; by comparing the number of people detected frame by frame, the artificial intelligence can spot when someone is missing and raise the alarm.
Because the artificial intelligence can learn from experience it can learn to tell the difference between your pet and local wildlife that might encroach on your pool area. This means that you can keep your pets safe without being disturbed by false alarms during the night when animals may encroach on your pool area; although you might be intrigued to view clips of your nocturnal visitors in the morning. A short video clip is stored each time something is detected.
If an adult is detected in the pool area the system will alert you and prompt you to switch to ‘Supervised’ mode if you haven’t already done so. This mode is designed for planned use of the pool and will suppress alerts to entry and exit from the pool area. When the last adult leaves the area the system detects that too and prompts you to switch back to keeping watch over the empty pool. An emergency alarm is raised if the departure of that adult leaves an unsupervised child in the pool area.
Although we refer to the boundary around a swimming pool, the camera can be used to keep watch over any boundary you designate. It can keep watch over a trampoline, climbing frame, the tool shed, any area that could present a danger to unsupervised children. By comparing what was present in a previous frame with what is currently in frame, the artificial intelligence can detect the arrival of something or someone new in the designated area.
