[Anchor]
Rip currents are being pointed out as one of the main causes behind a series of water-related accidents along the east coast recently. Even the best swimmers can be swept away into the open sea in an instant by a rip current. Local governments have now stepped up to devise countermeasures utilizing AI technology.
G1, Song Hye-rim.
[Reporter]
Water accidents have been nonstop recently, particularly at unapproved beaches.
Some of these accidents are attributed to rip currents that suddenly occur near the shore.
On August 3, a person in their 70s swimming at Hansum Beach in Donghae was swept away by a rip current and rescued.
[Kim Do-hyun / Water Safety Guard: We are deployed when tubes overturn or when people cannot get out due to deep water, or when they go far out wearing life jackets and are unable to return.]
Rip currents refer to ocean currents where waves rushing toward the shore flow back rapidly toward the open sea. They are characterized by narrow widths and fast currents.
In addition, they occur locally depending on various conditions such as seabed topography and shoreline shapes, making them difficult to predict.
As a result, responding to accidents is also difficult.
To prepare for such recurring marine accidents, local governments have begun developing technology to respond to them.
The city of Sokcho has initiated the development of technology that uses artificial intelligence to predict the movement paths of missing persons at sea and implements the results on a digital twin platform.
Selected through a government contest, the project is being carried out around Sokcho Beach with a budget of approximately 700 million won.
The method involves placing human body models and buoys in the sea to collect real-time data on the paths and times they move along ocean currents.
The collected data will be analyzed based on the Korea Hydrographic and Oceanographic Agency's marine prediction system and used to predict detailed drifting paths.
[Park Sang-hyun / Head of Sokcho City Digital Twin Operation TF Team: By using AI inference technology to combine seabed topography information, ocean current information, and the movement paths we actually measured this time, we can predict how they will move and (save lives) more quickly and promptly.]
Meanwhile, the Korea Coast Guard has also issued rip current advisories and stepped up related patrols and preventive activities.
(Video Credit: Shin Ik-gyun, G1 Broadcasting)
G1, Song Hye-rim
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