Lifesavers to trial AI tool to detect rip currents

Surf lifesavers at some New South Wales beaches will trial a rip-detecting AI tool this summer to tackle Australia's most deadly beach hazard.

The RipEye tool, developed by researchers at the University of New South Wales (UNSW), can spot a potential rip by analysing thousands of photos of various beaches annotated by an expert team.

Almost half of the 66 beach drowning deaths between July 2025 and July 2026 were partially due to rip currents, according to Surf Life Saving Australia's most recent National Drowning Report.

"We are hopeful that this technology can help people to spot the rip and raise their own awareness about how to spot the rip and hopefully make a safer decision for swimming," senior researcher and AI expert Mandana Ghanavati said.

"A beachgoer can take a picture of the surf using their own mobile phone and it will show them where the potential rip currents are."

The researchers said it could correctly identify a rip 80 per cent of the time.

RipEye also features an educational game mode, challenging users to identify where rips are on sample beach photographs.

Their answers are then compared to how AI answered the same questions.

Dr Ghanavati said RipEye worked in 11 languages and was designed with population groups with higher risks of drowning in mind, including young males, the CALD community and international visitors.

Surf Life Saving Australia (SLSA) national research manager Jaz Lawes said the organisation was keen to use the app to train lifesavers and teach beach safety to the community.

She said the organisation was still working out which surf clubs to target in the trial.

"We're really looking to understand how it can be used in patrols," Ms Lawes said.

"Rip currents are notoriously difficult to identify and it's really hard to teach people how to identify them as well."

Ms Lawes said SLSA's research showed while one in two Australians were confident they could spot a rip, only one in seven could actually do it successfully.

She said the tool had potential to be rolled out to regional inland communities using existing programs such as Surf Life Saving NSW's Beach to Bush.

The organisation recently trialled AI camera technology designed to help prevent accidents at rock fishing spots at Sydney's Little Bay and Kiama on the state's South Coast.