AFAC account · Sydney’s eastern suburbs
Jet-ski recovery.
The conference paper describes two rock fishers recovered by jet ski after entering the water.
SAIL. From camera to response.
How ResQVision supports Surf Life Saving NSW’s SAIL programme: AI event detection, alerting integration, on-premises setup and testing with operational teams.
ContactA rock fisher entering rough water is a time-critical event. SAIL — Surveillance AI for Lifesaving — connects a coastal camera view with the people who can verify an incident and coordinate a response.
ResQVision has worked with Surf Life Saving NSW on the technology and the operating workflow. This case brings together the delivery work, the operator’s public programme description and published incident accounts.
01
From rock platform to operations centre
Surf Life Saving NSW’s public overview identifies Kiama Blowhole and Little Bay as trial sites. It describes a 14-month operational trial scheduled to conclude in November 2026, focused on rock fishers being washed from platforms.
That setting gives the work a specific purpose: notice unexpected water entry, bring it to the State Operations Centre and support a human decision. Read the operator’s programme overview.
02
The ResQVision contribution
Software & alerts.
AI detection and tracking software, detection-to-alert integration, and ongoing model development.
Deployment & support.
Building and setting up the on-premises server, with technical support, hardware support and system monitoring.
Tested with operators.
Real testing with SLSNSW personnel and jet skis, plus time in the State Operations Centre to understand the team’s information and review needs.
“...design and refine the detection-to-alert workflow so that it aligns with our operational requirements...”
03
Detection, review and response
Observe.
Coastal cameras cover the configured rock platform and adjacent water.
Flag.
The analysis identifies a configured event and an alert reaches the State Operations Centre.
Review.
An operator checks the scene and establishes what has happened.
Coordinate.
The operator uses established communications to task an appropriate rescue resource.
This is the workflow described in the published SAIL resource. Software supplies the prompt and evidence; operators verify and coordinate, and trained responders carry out the intervention.
04
Publicly reported incidents
AFAC account · Kiama
Helicopter response.
In a separate incident, one person regained the rocks and another was winched by helicopter. The paper notes the role of lifejackets.
These are published accounts involving cameras, operators and rescue resources. They do not establish a platform-wide detection rate or attribute a rescue to software alone. Read AFAC’s resource and attached conference paper.
05
What the field work taught us
Collect data. Test the workflow.
Controlled water-entry sessions at the pilot camera sites, supported by jet skis and SLSNSW personnel, collected footage for model refinement. They also let the customer team see how detection and tracking worked in the actual camera view and assess the system for the trial.
Following a person from water entry through recovery helped us understand the full response pathway. Earlier detection is one part of that pathway; operator review, tasking and the responder’s arrival also matter.
Understand the operator’s day.
Time in the State Operations Centre showed us how incoming calls, live camera views, weather checks and rescue resources come together. Operators also coordinate with police and ambulance and record information across internal systems and ICEMS.
We saw the effort involved in transferring information between systems and heard requests for Microsoft Teams integration. Those requests showed why delivery needs to fit the communications tools and documentation an operator already uses.
Apply the learning to your site.
Start with the event your team needs to notice, the information an operator needs to check and the response process that follows. Define the camera coverage, alert delivery and who reviews the event.
The SAIL presentation shows glare, lens exposure and distant subjects in real camera views. Include those ordinary conditions in test footage. Assess detection, alert usefulness and operator workload, then record acknowledgement and response separately.
Contact or review deployment and data handling.
Sources: SLSNSW programme overview; AFAC26 resource and conference paper, 18 August 2026; customer reference, 29 September 2026; ResQVision delivery account; Alex Piatek’s field-testing and operations-centre account, 7 October 2026. The reference is available for a relevant business discussion.
SAIL · Presentation
The work.
In detail.
Explore SAIL’s coastal monitoring and operator workflow in the SLSNSW presentation.
Original PowerPoint · 385 MB, including video.
Read the public case study