Dubai’s beaches will soon benefit from a water rescue system that blends aerial water-rescue drones—described as flying lifebuoys—with an autonomous aquatic rescue robot, delivering rapid deployment, buoyancy support, real-time visuals, and multisensor situational awareness to lifeguard teams.

At the core is an autonomous aquatic rescue robot, capable of speeds up to five times faster than traditional lifeguards, with a one-kilometer range and towing capacity of up to 500 kilograms, designed to operate in challenging sea conditions and ease rescuer strain.

Dubai Municipality’s safety framework integrates aquatic rescue robotics with aerial rescue drones into a technology-driven beach safety system aimed at enhancing emergency response, monitoring, and public protection.

The initiative is led by Bader Anwahi, CEO of the Public Facilities Agency at Dubai Municipality, who says the program sets global benchmarks for safety, readiness, and visitor confidence through proactive innovation.

The two technologies function within an integrated system that includes trained lifeguards, continuous monitoring, and a centralized control hub to improve response speed and reduce risk to staff.

Water rescue drones, described as flying lifebuoys, can deploy quickly, land on water, provide immediate buoyancy, and transmit live video to lifeguards for faster incident detection and better coordination.

The flying lifebuoy drones supplement the robot by offering aerial situational awareness, rapid deployment, buoyancy support, and real-time visuals to lifeguard teams for improved risk assessment.