AU2019100219A4 - Real time surf conditions warning display and system thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

Fe b API- TIDAL INFORMATION DEPTH AND TIME WILLY ONE HOUR BEFORE AND ONE HOUR AFTER HIGH TIDE TURN YELLOW ON TWO HOURS BEFORE LOW TIDE AND TWO HOURS AFTER LOW TIDE TURN ON RED ALL OTHER HOURS IN BETWEEN TURN ON CPU WITH MODEM RELAY BOARD Fe b

Description

REAL TIME SURF CONDITIONS WARNING DISPLAY AND SYSTEM THEREOF

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a device or system for displaying beach safety information to users. More particularly, the present invention relates to an electronic device that can update and display beach safety information to users in real-time.

BACKGROUND [0002] From the National Coastal Safety Report 2016 by Surf Lifesaving Australia, in the year 2013-2014, there was a total of 84 coastal drownings. This number increased to 105 in the next year and between the years 2015-2016, there was a total of 130 drownings. Some of the drownings include international tourists, which were approximated to be 20% of the total drownings for the year. This is an alarming trend and an indication that current warning signs are not significant to serve the purpose of promoting dangers that exist at the beaches. There are many conventional existing warning signs and displays at beach locations for informing beachgoers, tourists and families that the ocean can present a number of hazardous conditions at any time without warning and sometimes unrecognisable life threatening rips and currents. The existing warning displays and signs that are printed as simple signage, which serves as general information only and does not adaptively inform beachgoers, tourists and families of the safety condition of the day.

[0003] US Patent Application Publication No. US20110100288A1 discloses an ultraviolet risk indicator instrument for indicating the degree of risk from solar UV radiation by means of a graphic display in real time, used by identifying the colour of an area indicated by the shadow cast of a style (polar or straight) to take appropriate sun protection. While the identification of UV radiation can be determined by reading the dial, it is generally inconvenient for users to analyse shadows. Further for places such as the beach, multiple dangers in an area are present and are not limited to UV radiation.

-32019100219 28 Feb 2019 [0004] Other warning signs for users about to enter potentially dangerous locations are also known. Although most are physical signs displaying general risk, there are also remotely controlled electronic signs operable by a qualified user. When the process of physically controlling electronic signs requires human operation, there may be a risk of human error. The human error can be analysing and assessing insufficient information. When users are not sufficiently informed of the potential injury or threats that may pose for them at the location, users may not be able to determine whether the location that users are spending their time there is a safe location.

[0005] Other designs have been developed in the past to overcome the disadvantages mentioned above, however, current warning sign devices may include some disadvantages relating to insufficient safety information. In light of the aforementioned disadvantages, there is a long felt need to simply and summarise informative data from verified sources that are easy to understand and can update the warning signage in real time.

[0006] Any discussion of the prior art throughout the specification should in no way be considered as an admission that such prior art is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.

SUMMARY [0007] PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED [0008] It may be advantageous to provide a device for displaying beach safety information to users.

[0009] It may be an advantage to provide a device which displays at least one important safety information.

[0010] It may be an advantage to provide beach safety information with an image representing the safety information conveyed for assisting local and/or foreign users to understand the information displayed.

-42019100219 28 Feb 2019 [0011] It may be an advantage to provide beach safety information in incremental severity in which the incremental statuses are colour coded.

[0012] It may be an advantage to provide a device which is constructed from materials that are robust and rust resistant.

[0013] It may be an advantage to provide a device which displays at least one beach safety information such as rip current information, sand bank information, UV information, shark presence information, jellyfish presence information, time, temperature and weather information.

[0014] It may be an advantage that the live warning display, may be remotely updated in real time.

[0015] It may be an advantage to report live updates and may provide warnings to the users at the specific beach.

[0016] It may be an advantage to provide a processing unit located within the display which may calculate the circumstances of the residing tide inherently present at the moment in time in relation to currents and rips as well as shallow sand banks.

[0017] It may be an advantage to provide a processing unit that may obtain received information from a database, wherein the database is at least one selected from the group of: a meteorological database, and an oceanographical database.

[0018] It may be an advantage to provide a processing unit that may process and analyse live data from the database.

[0019] It may be an advantage to provide a processing unit that may compare the live data to the predetermined threshold value.

-52019100219 28 Feb 2019 [0020] It may be an advantage to provide an indicator and/or an illuminating unit of a three coloured light system of yellow, amber and red, in which the order of the colour may indicate from less risk to most risk.

[0021] It may be an advantage to provide moving, flashing and bright lights to bring more attention to users viewing the device.

[0022] It may be an advantage to provide a device for assisting tourists in making more informed decisions of how they will approach the beach and consider the inherent risks that they may not have been aware of before.

[0023] It may be an advantage to operate the device on low voltage of power that can also be charged by solar power.

[0024] It may be an advantage to provide a low-power device to reduce building and installing costs as well as providing these devices in remote areas.

[0025] It may be an advantage to provide a device that may be placed into concrete surfaces, sand, trailer and/or lifeguard huts.

[0026] It is an object of the present invention to overcome or ameliorate at least one of the disadvantages of the prior art, or to provide a useful alternative.

[0027] MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEM [0028] A first aspect of the present invention may relate to a device adapted for use in displaying beach safety information to users, wherein the device may comprise: an electronic display including a plurality of independently operable segments, and wherein each segment may be associated with a segment data set. The segment data set may comprise a plurality of indicators, wherein each indicator may reflect a status of the segment data set, and wherein each indicator may be associated with a predetermined threshold value. The electronic display may comprise a processing unit, wherein the

-62019100219 28 Feb 2019 processing unit may obtain retrieved information from a database, wherein the database is at least one selected from the group of: a meteorological database, an oceanographical database, and a dorsal watch database; wherein the retrieved information may be relevant to the location of the electronic display. The processing unit may compare the retrieved information to the predetermined threshold value, and accordingly, the processing unit dynamically operates the indictors for each segment.

[0029] Preferably, the segment may comprise at least one selected from the group of: rip cun-ent information, sand bank information, UV information, shark presence information, jellyfish presence information, time, temperature, and weather information.

[0030] Preferably, the processor may operate the indicators for the rip current information segment may calculate rip current values based on retrieved tidal data over a predetermined time period.

[0031] Preferably, the statuses of the rip current segment data set may be ranked from developing, present and dangerous.

[0032] Preferably, the statuses of the sand bank segment data set may be ranked from: take care, shallow, and dangerous.

[0033] Preferably, the statuses of the UV segment data set may be ranked from moderate, high, and very high.

[0034] Preferably, the statuses of the shark presence segment data set may be ranked from: not likely, take care, and dangerous.

[0035] Preferably, the device may further comprise a GPS unit located within the electronic display, wherein the GPS unit may be in communication with the processor.

[0036] Preferably, each segment may comprise an image relevant to the segment data set.

-72019100219 28 Feb 2019 [0037] In the context of the present invention, the words “comprise”, “comprising” and the like are to be construed in their inclusive, as opposed to their exclusive, sense, that is in the sense of “including, but not limited to”.

[0038] The invention is to be interpreted with reference to the at least one of the technical problems described or affiliated with the background art. The present aims to solve or ameliorate at least one of the technical problems and this may result in one or more advantageous effects as defined by this specification and described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments of the present invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES [0039] Figure 1 depicts a perspective view of an embodiment of the device.

[0040] Figure 2 depicts a perspective view of another embodiment of the device.

[0041] Figure 3 depicts a perspective view of electronic components associated with the operation of the device.

[0042] Figure 4 depicts a flowchart of the process of determining the particular category to be illuminated with respect to the rip current warning segment of the device.

[0043] Figure 5 depicts a flowchart of the process of determining the particular category to be illuminated with respect to the sand bank warning segment of the device.

[0044] Figure 6 depicts a flowchart of the process of determining the particular category to be illuminated with respect to the UV warning segment of the device.

[0045] Figure 7 depicts a flowchart of the process of determining the particular category to be illuminated with respect to the shark presence warning segment of the device.

[0046] Figure 8 depicts the device showing a visual representation of a location with particular hazards indicated to the user.

-82019100219 28 Feb 2019 [0047] Figure 9 depicts tidal graph information retrieved from databases that may be used for determining the category or status for the rip current hazard segment.

[0048] Figure 10 depicts a conceptual overview of the rip dynamics on beaches.

[0049] Figure 11 depicts a LED matrix for use with the device.

[0050] Figure 12 depicts a touch screen for use with the device.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0051] Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and non-limiting examples. It should be noted in the following description that like or the same reference numerals in different embodiments denote the same or similar features.

[0052] In a first preferred embodiment of the present invention may have been purposely designed to report live updates and provide warnings at the specific beach to beach visitors. The warnings or the hazards that may be of significant interest may comprise but not limited to the presence of rip currents, places of shallow banks, high ultra violet prevailing conditions, and shark presence. The device may be in the form of a live warning display, in which the device may be remotely updated in real time to display cun-ent rip current conditions as well as parts of the beach with shallow sand banks. This live data may be downloaded from the relevant internet sites which may be a third-party database(s) and/or application(s) and/or API feeds which may obtain reliable meteorological data and/or oceanographical data from official meteorological and/or oceanographical sources. This live data may be interpreted and/or analysed by the processor within the live warning display or device. Depending on the interpretation or analysis of the live data from the processor, the device may illuminate a warning light display. For example, for each hazard with a set of four categories, in which the foulcategories may be ranked from less risk to most risk, a warning light display of three

-92019100219 28 Feb 2019 lights made up of yellow, amber and red may be used. The colours may provide a clear visual instruction to the beach user to consider the severity of the risk and may cause the beach user to reflect on their swimming capability/experience and/or exercise extreme caution when entering the area of the location.

[0053] The live status of UV readings may also be downloaded or obtained from relevant sources from the internet and may be displayed as a digital number that may relate to the UV reading at that time of day. This live UV reading may also be calculated by the processor of the device or the live warning system and may regulate the three lights in relation to the pre-settings that may be calibrated in the range of low, mid to high. It may be appreciated that each hazard may have its own three lights designated to that specific category, if the hazard has three categories. It may also be appreciated that any number of hazards may be adapted to, calculated by and display/warn by a real time live warning display or a real time surf conditions warning display.

[0054] The live status of Shark presence may also be downloaded or obtained from relevant sources from the internet such as Dorsal Watch database. The live shark presence reading may be displayed as a digital number that may relate to the shark presence sighting at the time of day. This live shark presence may also be calculated by the processor of the device or the live warning system and may regulate the three lights in relation to the pre-settings that may be calibrated in the range of “shark four hours ago”, “shark two hours ago”, and “shark now”. It may be appreciated that if shark presence was more than four hours ago, none of the lights will be illuminated for the shark presence hazard segment.

[0055] The device may comprise numerous electronic components to enable the device to receive live information and data from the internet. A circuit board under command of a purpose written program tailored for the operation of the device may analyse the data and may engage with the warning lights by illuminating a specific light that may have been calibrated within a specific range for its engagement. Each hazard category may be calculated independently by the data received and communicated by engaging the corresponding light of the said category. The sum of the combined electronic

-102019100219 28 Feb 2019 components that may make up the internal system may be housed in an outer case being the body made up of sheet metal and glass as the preferred materials. The outer case may not be restricted to specific materials as there may be various options and material suitable to enclose the components that may withstand the harsh environment of its desired location. The real time surf conditions warning display or device may also be not restricted to the design and construction herewith described. Simplified versions may be manufactured using standalone exterior monitors or LCD displays which may be linked by a computer remotely that may run the specific program of the real time surf conditions warning display or device.

[0056] It may be appreciated that this invention may not be limited to being a fully automated system. The embodiment may also be operated manually by allowing qualified operators such as life guards, surf club management, council officers to adjust the internal warning adjuster or lights which may suit the conditions that they feel are prevailing at that time. This may also be done remotely through an internet connection with the device or the system.

[0057] The device may have a formulation of codes which may be derived from numerous weather sites or websites that may predict and report conditions for the respective day in any given beach may be able to segregate each hazard into three categories or periods of relative danger. Yellow may be ‘developing’, orange/amber may be ‘present’, and red may be ‘dangerous’. The device may also have codes for operating the lights to turn on and off via a set of relays. A unique login may allow for operating officers such as life guards to manually operate the lights to increase or decrease the levels of danger if so desired.

[0058] The device may be segmented into at least three levels, in which each level may display a particular hazard. It may be appreciated that more segments or levels may be added such that other dangers that may be present at beaches can be added to the device and displayed to the user. Other dangers may be the presence of sharks and/or stinging jellyfishes at the beach location, and dangers such as depth of sand banks and levels of UV fluctuating throughout the 24-hour period have been added. Codes which may be

-112019100219 28 Feb 2019 derived from the Application Programming Interface (API) feeds from relevant weather websites may operate the relays to turn on or ton off the corresponding light for the segment/level set by the code.

[0059] The device may further comprise a digital moving display that may enable life guards to log onto the system and may add local warnings and other information related to beach conditions. The display may be a touch screen monitor which may have an image of the particular beach, if selected by the user. Another feature of the device may also monitor shark movements from numerous reporting sites and sightings from various reporters. The hazard may be segmented into three categories or periods to allow lights to light up next to the determined category. The periods may be broken into time periods of the shark or sharks at that location.

[0060] The device may be solar powered such that the device may be able to operate in remote areas without access to power. A solar panel may be in connection with an Arduino™ board and/or a Nodemeu™ board such that solar power may be able to power the boards to operate the display and/or device. For example, in an embodiment of the present invention, 12 Volt monitors and moving text displays may be incorporated into the device and may be powered by a solar power panel. The 12 Volt device may have all the above warnings or hazards incorporated and the front facing displays may also be operated by solar energy.

[0061] Preferably, the device or system may be in communication with a phone application that may have been developed to indicate the same warnings derived by the same programming that runs the device. Lifeguards may have a unique login in option to customise local warning updates as well as indicating locations on a specific beach for rips or developing rips together with other concerns or potential hazards in the area.

[0062] In a further embodiment of the present invention, as illustrated, in Figures 1 and 2, shows a device 10 which may be adapted for use in displaying beach safety information to users. The device 10 may be an electronic device allowing for the display of visual presentation of information and images to the user. The device 10 may comprise an

-122019100219 28 Feb 2019 electronic display 12 or an electronic screen. The electronic display 12 may be a screen or a touch screen. The electronic display 12 may include a plurality of independently operable segments 14, wherein each segment 14 may be associated with a segment data set 16. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, each segment 14 may display a particular type of hazard. For example, the device 10 may incorporate at least four distinct segments, each individually may display at least one of: a rip cun-ent segment 22, a sand bank segment 24, a UV segment 26, shark presence segment 28, and a hazard message segment 30. It may be appreciated that the device 10 may be modified so that any number of segments may be displayed. Additional segments 30 may for example, be a jellyfish presence warning segment 30 which may indicate to the user that dangerous jellyfish may be present in the area and may alert beach users to take care, beware and/or be cautious. Similarly, other additional segments may for example be a shark presence warning segment which may indicate to the user that sharks may be present in the area and may alert beach users to also take care, beware and/or be cautious.

[0063] The segment data set 16 may be a list of categories or statuses which may describe the situation of the hazard in each segment. Depending on the context of the information about the hazard, the categories 20 or statuses 20 in the segment data set 16 may be ordered from low to high or from least severe to most severe for easy reading and easy understanding. Preferably, simple and common words may be used to describe the hazard in each segment. For example, for the rip current segment 22, these words may be ‘developing, present and dangerous’; for the sand banks segment 24, these words may be ‘take care, shallow and dangerous’; for the UV segment 26, these words may be ‘moderate, high, and very high’; for the Shark segment 28, these words may be “Shark four hours ago”, “Shark two hours ago”, and “Shark now”. It may be appreciated that different words may be used to convey the level of risk and/or relevant safety information to the user.

[0064] The segment data set 16 for each segment may comprise a plurality of lights or indicators 18, in which an indicator is adjacent or next to the category 20. It may be appreciated that one indicator responsible for each segment or hazard is on such that there

-132019100219 28 Feb 2019 is a definitive assessment of the hazard’s present situation. In Figures 1 and 2, the device 10 may have a group of indicators 13 which may be programmed to be responsible for the rip current segment 22. Similarly, the device 10 may have a group of indicators 15 which may be programmed to be responsible for the sand banks segment 24. Similarly, the device 10 may have a group of indicators 17 which may be programmed to be responsible for the UV segment 26. As the indicator is responsible for the allocated category or status 20, each indicator is associated with a predetermined threshold value or a predetermined value range. This predetermined threshold value or value range may be relevant to the assessment or category 20 of the hazard.

[0065] The electronic display 12 may comprise a processing unit 50, wherein the processing unit 50 may obtain retrieved information from at least one database 52. The database 52 may be at least one selected from the group of: a meteorological database 54, an oceanographical database 56, and a dorsal watch database 58. It may be appreciated that the at least one database 52 is from a reliable source. It may also be appreciated that the received information from the database may be relevant to the area or location that the device 10 may be positioned to warn users about the particular area or location. The meteorological database 54 may contain useful information such as time, weather conditions at specific areas, and may also contain predictive weather condition information at future times at specific areas. Similarly, the oceanographic database 56 may contain useful information such as time, current paths, tidal information at specific areas, and may also contain predictive current paths and tidal information at future times. Similarly, the dorsal watch database 58 may contain useful information such as time, shark and/or jellyfish sightings logged at particular areas at a particular time, and may also contain predictive shark and/or jellyfish paths at future times. It may be appreciated that some information relevant to the location of the device 10 may overlap between the databases 54, 56, 58.

[0066] The processing unit 50 of the device 10 may be programmed to compare the retrieved information from the at least one database 52 to the predetermined threshold value. When the retrieved information for the particular hazard is a value, the processing

-142019100219 28 Feb 2019 unit 50 may turn on or illuminate the indicator associated with the category or status 20 of the hazard. When the retrieved information for the particular hazard is an word or a particular assessment, the processing unit 50 may assign or allocate a value that may be closely related to or reflects the corresponding category or status 20 of the hazard such that the indicator may be illuminated for the corresponding category 20. It may be appreciated that conditions are dynamic and the assessments 20 will also dynamically change with respect to time. Once the processing unit 50 obtains retrieved updated information that may be outside the predetermined threshold value or value range of the illuminated category 20 for the particular hazard, the processing unit 50 may switch off the light for that category and may illuminate the corresponding category 20 that may be relevant with the updated value.

[0067] The device 10 may also display the time 21, temperature 23 and date. This information may be useful as a reminder to users that it may be too late or that it may be beyond the life guard or life saver’s expected time of duty. For example, most workers and/or volunteers or life savers may be in reduced numbers or may not be present outside general working hours. The device 10 may also display at least one image for each segment, which may be in relation to a particular hazard. For example, the rip current segment 22 may have an image 23 that may visually indicate a distressed person helplessly swept out or pushed out into the ocean by strong currents. The sand bank segment 24 may have an image 25 that may visually indicate that a person diving headfirst into a shallow body of water with a rocky surface. The UV segment 6 may have an image 27 that may visually indicate the sun emitting radiation. The images depicting each segment or hazard may assist local users and especially tourists who may have a limited knowledge and understanding of English to clearly identify and understand what the hazard is conveying. Preferably the words on the device for each category/segment should be simple to understand and additionally utilise other visual cues such as the light system consisting of yellow, amber/orange, and red lights. Yellow and orange may be less risky than red, in which the colour red may be well known to reflect dangerous conditions. As most people are familiar with the traffic light system that red denotes a person to stop, this colour may serve as an instant alert to deter a beach user and/or tourist

-152019100219 28 Feb 2019 from going or entering dangerous locations. As for a red light for the UV segment 26, it may inform the user and/or tourist to minimise their time in the area.

[0068] The device 10 may have a protective casing 45 which may be replaceable that protects the electronic display 12 and the electronic components inside the device 10. The protective casing 45 may constructed from materials that may preferably be resistant to sand abrasion, and may also preferably be rust resistant. As materials may be worn out over time, it may be an advantage to provide a replaceable casing so that the damaged one can be replaced. For stability, there may be a platform 40 or a compartment in connection with the protective casing 45. The platform 40 may be positioned between the ground and the protective casing 45. The platform 40 may be another protective casing that may house and/or protect the processing unit 50 and/or electronic components associated with the functioning of the processing unit 50. The platform 40 may also be constructed from materials that may preferably be resistant to sand abrasion, and may also be rust resistant.

[0069] As illustrated in Figure 3, the processing unit 50 may comprise the following electronic components for dynamically operating the indicators 18 for each segment 14. Light brackets for holding the lights or indicators 18 in a desired place. The lights or indicators 18 may be in communication with an Arduino™ computable 12 Volt relay board 70. The relay board 70 may be an electrically operated switch that can be turned on or off, which may let the current go through or not and can be controlled with low voltages. In a preferred embodiment, 12 Volt is used and it is appreciated that any amount of voltage can be used. The relay board 70 or relay module 70 may have two channels. The pins on one side of the relay module may connect high voltage, and the pins on the right side may connect the component that may require low voltage. The high-voltage side may have two connectors, each with three sockets: common pin (COM), normally closed (NC), and normally open (NO). For the normally closed (NC) socket, it may be used when you want the relay to be closed by default, which may mean that the current may be flowing unless you send a signal from the Arduino™ to the relay module which may open the circuit and may stop the current. For the normally open

-162019100219 28 Feb 2019 (NO) socket, it may be used when you want the relay to be always open, so the circuit may be broken unless you send a signal from the Arduino™ to close the circuit. For the light or indicator 18 may be lit up occasionally, it may be better to use a normally-open circuit configuration.

[0070] The low-voltage side may have a set of four pins and a set of three pins, in which the set of four pins may be VCC, GND, input 1 (INI) and input 2 (IN2). The VCC and GND pins may power up the relay module 70, and the input 1 (INI) and input 2 (IN2) may control the bottom and top relays respectively. The set of three pins may consist of GND, VCC, and JD-VCC pins, in which the JD-VCC pin may power the electromagnet of the relay. The relay module 70 may have a jumper cap connecting the VCC and JDVCC pins, in which the jumper cap may allow you to choose whether the circuit may be physically connected to the Arduino™ circuit or not. With the jumper cap on, the VCC and JD-VCC pins may be connected. That means the relay electromagnet may be directly powered from the Arduino’s power pin, so the relay module and the Arduino circuits may not be physically isolated from each other. Otherwise, without the jumper cap, you may need to provide an independent power source to power up the relay’s electromagnet through the JD-VCC pin.

[0071] For example, the lamp or indicator 18 may be connected to the relay module 70 using a normally open configuration. The Arduino™ may control the relay through a pin when the pin may be connected to the relay INI pin. The relay board 70 may be in communication with a 12 Volt Mega Arduino/CPU board 74 for communicating and accepting code. Arduino™ Integrated Development Environment (IDE) software, which may be an online platform that may enable developers to write code and configure boards. It may be appreciated that the code may be written on a computer in which the computer is in communication with the board such that the code can be uploaded to the board. The relay module 70 and the Arduino™ board 74 may be in communication with a breadboard 72, in which the breadboard 72 may make quick electrical connections between electronic components. Breadboards may be plugged in to a standard power supply that may either connect to a wall outlet or a battery. The holes in the breadboard

-172019100219 28 Feb 2019 may be connected to positive or negative voltage so that when a circuit may be wired and plugged in, current may flow through the circuit.

[0072] The Arduino™ board 74 may be in communication with an Arduino™ compatible NodeMCU™ board 76. The board 76 may have a WIFI module and may have a microcontroller. The microcontroller may be a system with a processor, memory and peripherals and may be used as an embedded system. Microcontrollers may be embedded inside devices to control the actions and features of the product. The board 76 may run programs dependent on the programming of the code.

[0073] The code uploaded to the board may program a predetermined threshold value or a predetermined value range for each indicator 18 such that if it is within the value range the indicator 18 will be on, otherwise the indicator 18 will be dynamically turned off. While the processing unit 50 may retrieve information from at least one database 52 such as a meteorological database 54, an oceanographical database 56, and a Dorsal Watch database 58, which may be relevant to the hazard as well as the relevant location of the device 10; the retrieved information may be a particular assessment and/or a value. The processing unit 50 may compare the values retrieved from the at least one database 52 to the predetermined threshold value for each category. Once matched, the processing unit 50 may dynamically operate or turn on/turn off the indicators 18 for each segment 14.

[0074] As shown in Figure 4, the rip current flowchart 100 may show the process and system of determination for the operation of a rip current warning 102 for the rip current segment 22. The processing unit 50 may retrieve information 104 from the relevant database 52 such as a meteorological database 54 and/or an oceanographical database 56. The retrieved information 106 from the database may be tidal information, tidal depth and time information. The processing unit may store the retrieved information 108 and the code 110 may allow the processing unit 50 to perform calculations, compare predetermined threshold values and operate the electronic components such that the indicator 18 which corresponds with the value of the retrieved information is illuminated.

-182019100219 28 Feb 2019 [0075] The code 110 for calculating the rip current warning may consider the following information: one hour before and after high tide is yellow on; three hours after high tide and two hours after low tide is red on; and all other hours in between is orange/amber on. It may be appreciated that the code 110 for the rip current warning algorithm may be programmed or uploaded to the 12 Volt Mega Arduino™/CPU board 74 or 112. The 12 Volt Mega Arduino™/CPU board 112 may be in communication 114 with the relay board 70 or 116 for communicating and accepting code. The processing unit 50 may determine or compare 118 the value of the retrieved information in real time to the category associated with the rip current segment hazard. The relay board 116 may be an electrically operated switch that can be turned on or off, which may let the electrical current go through or not such that the right category is correctly illuminated.

[0076] It may be appreciated that time between the successive low tides may be approximately 12 hours apart and the time between a low tide and a high tide may be approximately 6 horns apart. In consideration of the progression of indicator colours for the rip current warning during each 12 hour period, the first low tide may be at 0 hour and an orange indicator may be illuminated. At the second hour, an orange indicator may still be illuminated; at the third hour, a red indicator may be illuminated until the fifth hour. At the fifth hour, a yellow indicator may be illuminated until the sixth hour, in which the sixth hour may be the high tide. At the sixth hour, a yellow indicator may be illuminated until the seventh hour. At the seventh hour, an orange indicator may be illuminated until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour, a red indicator may be illuminated until the twelfth hour. It may be appreciated that the device 10 may obtain retrieved information from a meteorological database in real time that may confirm the high and low tide time as well as other weather conditions that may affect the severity of the hazard. Examples may be high winds and a storm warning that may indicate to a beach user to not enter regardless of whether rip currents are developing or present. These immediate hazards may supersede the general cycle of illumination and may generally illuminate red during the time of these events to provide extra visual deterrent so as to minimise misinterpretation of conflicting signals to a beach user. A possible scenario may be a storm is present but the rip current indicator is yellow and there may be a possibility that a user may see the

-192019100219 28 Feb 2019 yellow indicator on and may believe that it is still safe to enter. While the algorithm or code may show the yellow indicator for the particular time, a red indicator may be manually or automatically chosen.

[0077] As shown in Figure 5, the sand bank flowchart 200 may show the process and system of determination for the operation of a sand bank warning 102 for the rip current segment 24. The processing unit 50 may retrieve information 204 from the relevant database 52 such as a meteorological database 54 and/or an oceanographical database 56. The retrieved information 206 from the database may be tidal information, tidal depth and time information. The processing unit may store the retrieved information 208 and the code 210 may allow the processing unit 50 to perform calculations, compare predetermined threshold values and operate the electronic components such that the indicator 18 which corresponds with the value of the retrieved information is illuminated.

[0078] The code 210 for calculating the sand bank warning may consider the following information: one hour before and after high tide is yellow on; two hours before low tide and two hours after low tide is red on; and all other hours in between is orange/amber on. It may be appreciated that the code 210 for the sand bank warning algorithm may be programmed or uploaded to the 12 Volt Mega Arduino/CPU board 74 oi 212. The 12 Volt Mega Arduino/CPU board 212 may be in communication 214 with the relay board 70 or 216 for communicating and accepting code. The processing unit 50 may determine or compare 218 the value of the retrieved information in real time to the category associated with the sand bank segment hazard. The relay board 216 may be an electrically operated switch that can be turned on or off, which may let the electrical current go through or not such that the right category is correctly illuminated.

[0079] It may be appreciated that time between the successive low tides may be approximately 12 hours apart and the time between a low tide and a high tide may be approximately 6 hours apart. In consideration of the progression of indicator colours for the sand bank warning during each 12 hour period, the first low tide may be at 0 hour and an orange indicator may be illuminated. At the second hour, a red indicator may be illuminated until the fifth hour; at the fifth hour, a yellow indicator may be illuminated

-202019100219 28 Feb 2019 until the sixth hour, in which the sixth hour may be the high tide. At the sixth hour, an orange indicator may be illuminated until the seventh hour. At the seventh hour, an yellow indicator may be illuminated until the tenth hour. At the tenth hour, a red indicator may be illuminated until the twelfth hour. It may be appreciated that the device 10 may obtain retrieved information from a meteorological database in real time that may confirm the high and low tide time as well as other weather conditions that may affect the severity of the hazard. Examples may be high winds and a storm warning that may indicate to a beach user to not enter regardless of whether rip currents are developing or present. These immediate hazards may supersede the general cycle of illumination and may generally illuminate red during the time of these events to provide extra visual deterrent so as to minimise misinterpretation of conflicting signals to a beach user. A possible scenario may be a storm is present but the sand bank warning is yellow and there may be a possibility that a user may see the yellow indicator on and may believe that it is still safe to enter. While the algorithm or code may show the yellow indicator for the particular time, a red indicator may be manually or automatically chosen.

[0080] As shown in Figure 6, the UV flowchart 300 may show the process and system of determination for the operation of a UV warning 102 for the UV segment 26. The processing unit 50 may retrieve information 304 from the relevant database 52 such as a meteorological database 54 and/or an oceanographical database 56. The retrieved information 306 from the database may be UV information and time information. The processing unit may store the retrieved information 308 and the code 310 may allow the processing unit 50 to perform calculations, compare predetermined threshold values and operate the electronic components such that the indicator 18 which corresponds with the value of the retrieved information is illuminated.

[0081] The code 310 for calculating the UV warning may consider the following information: when the UV value range may be less than two, there may be no indicators illuminated. When the UV value range may be between two and five, a yellow indicator 18 may be illuminated. When the UV value range may be between five and seven, an orange indicator 18 may be illuminated. When the UV value range is greater than seven,

-212019100219 28 Feb 2019 a red indicator 18 may be illuminated. It may be appreciated that the code 310 for the UV warning algorithm may be programmed or uploaded to the 12 Volt Mega Arduino/CPU board 74 or 312. The 12 Volt Mega Arduino/CPU board 312 may be in communication 314 with the relay board 70 or 316 for communicating and accepting code. The processing unit 50 may determine or compare 318 the value of the retrieved information in real time to the category associated with the sand bank segment hazard. The relay board 316 may be an electrically operated switch that can be turned on or off, which may let the electrical current go through or not such that the right category is correctly illuminated.

[0082] As shown in Figure 7, the shark presence flowchart 400 may show the process and system of determination for the operation of a shark presence warning 402 for the shark presence segment. The processing unit 50 may retrieve information 404 from the relevant database 52 such as a Dorsal Watch database 58. The retrieved information 406 from the database may be shark live sightings information, time and location information. The processing unit 50 may store the retrieved information 408 and the code 410 may allow the processing unit 50 to perform calculations, compare predetermined threshold values and operate the electronic components such that the indicator 18 which corresponds with the value of the retrieved information is illuminated.

[0083] The code 410 for calculating the UV warning may consider the following information: when there has been information about the location with shark live sightings, a red indicator may be illuminated. Two hours after the reported shark live sighting in the location, an orange indicator may be illuminated. Four hours after the reported shark live sighting in the location, a yellow indicator may be illuminated. Five hours after the reported shark live sighting in the location, no indicators for the shark presence segment will be illuminated. It may be appreciated that the code 410 for the shark presence warning algorithm may be programmed or uploaded to the 12 Volt Mega Arduino/CPU board 74 or 412. The 12 Volt Mega Arduino/CPU board 412 may be in communication 414 with the relay board 70 or 416 for communicating and accepting code. The processing unit 50 may determine or compare 418 the value of the retrieved

-222019100219 28 Feb 2019 information in real time to the category associated with the sand bank segment hazard. The relay board 416 may be an electrically operated switch that can be turned on or off, which may let the electrical current go through or not such that the right category is correctly illuminated.

[0084] As shown in Figure 8, in another embodiment of the present invention, the device 10 may have an electronic display 12 that may be a touch screen. The touch screen may allow a user to interact with the device and one option, if chosen, may be to allow a user to see a representation of the beach 80 or area. The visual representation of the beach 80 may instruct a user the direction of the cun-ent 82, or indicate the parts of the beach that may have rips present, or indicate the parts of the beach that may have shallow sand banks, or indicate an exact or approximate location of possible sharks in the area, or indicate an exact or approximate location of possible dangerous jellyfish in the area. The visual representation of the beach 80 may show rip currents 84 and their direction of movement. It may be appreciated that rip current direction may be known from dyes dropped into the water by drones in which the dye movement can be visually tracked by cameras from the drone. It may be appreciated that dye dropping may be done routinely on a daily basis or any other frequency. The visual information of the dye movement may then be uploaded to a database or a server. The processing unit 50 may then obtain and retrieve the visual information from. Official lifeguards that have access to the device 10 may indicate on the electronic display or monitor 12 the general direction and location of the rip current. Any information displayed by the device 10 may be uploaded to a server or be in communication with the Ocean Live mobile application. It may be appreciated that any visual information conveyed by the device 10 may be similarly reflected by the mobile application, such as Ocean Live mobile application downloaded by the user.

[0085] While the device 10 may have this feature, it may be appreciated that this visual representation may be presented to the user in a downloadable mobile application. The mobile application may allow the user to plan their beach trip beforehand by knowing the conditions and the severity of the present hazards in the area. It may be an advantage to

-232019100219 28 Feb 2019 know this information beforehand such that the user may then choose to go a possibly safer beach or location than the one that they may have planned. When a user may be using the mobile application on their smartphones, the application may allow a user to select the following choices: the country, the state and/or city, and then the name of the beach. Once those choices have been selected, the beach representation 80 and the hazards may be shown on the user’s smartphone screen similar to the touch screen of the device 10.

[0086] As shown in Figure 9, the databases may represent their data or information in a graphical format 500, which may show the time at which high tide comes and the time at which low tide comes. Tidal height 508, 510 information over time 514 may not be periodic everywhere and some places may have changing tidal heights over time. The charts shown in Figure 9 at where the circle 516 is, show the time 512 of drowning of a person/persons in known reported cases. As shown by the placement of the circle 516 or a statistic of a person drowning, it occurred when the tidal height is relatively low or near the valley 510 of the tidal time and height graph 500. The time at which there was a recorded drowning occurred within the red indicator period for the rip current hazard, where the rip current may have been deemed dangerous at that time.

[0087] Figure 10 shows a conceptual overview of the rip dynamics. The schematic diagrams 600 may be supported by hydrodynamic model output generated from XBeach using measured bathymetry, which may be the measurement of depth of water in oceans, seas and lakes. XBeach may be a depth-average wave group resolving model. White arrows 606 may be inner surf zone currents, and red arrows 610 may be outer surf zone currents. Grey shading may the proportion of wave breaking, while dark grey may be saturated surf zone. The grey shading and dark grey shading may be located between the sand 602 and the ocean 608. For each diagram, levels for surf zone drifter exit potential 612 and flow velocity 614 may be given. It may be appreciated that databases may contain rip dynamic data for locations and this particular data may be obtained to determine the category of the rip current hazard segment.

-242019100219 28 Feb 2019 [0088] Modes of rip behaviour may provide insight into the physical controls on rip hazards on macrotidal beaches. Mode 1: Low to moderate energy (Wf = 0.2- 0.5) with a relatively narrow surf zone. The active morphological template may be associated with either small neap tide ranges (Tf > 0.5 m) or low wave energy. Flow speeds may be low but rip exits may be high due to a narrow surf zone and/or insignificant onshore flows at the outer edge of the surf zone. Under these conditions, wind-generated flows may become important as they may be of the same order of magnitude as surf zone currents. As Wf increases, rotational rip circulations may begin to establish. Mode 1 may represent the transition to rip current inactivity. A reduction of Wf or increase in Tf may ‘switch off the rip current.

[0089] Mode 2: Moderate energy (Wf = 0.5-1) with occasional breaking on the offshore bar. The active morphological template may be associated with smaller tide ranges (Tf = 0-0.5 m), where the combination of rip exits and flow speed may be maximised, especially in the higher energy case (Wf = 1). The cross-shore length scales of the rip circulation may extend to the outer bar. Strong retentive eddies may occur either side of rip neck (strong onshore flows over shoals) but limited breaking occurs over the rip head/outer bar to reduce the exit numbers. Rip flows may be almost shore-normal at the surf zone edge reducing alongshore deflection to the shoals (onshore transport dominated regions) so that rip exit level may be relatively high in comparison to rotation.

[0090] Mode 3: Moderate energy (Wf= 0.5-1) with a full width surf zone including persistent breaking on the outer bar. Rip flows may be medium- high, and increased rotational behaviour may lead to less exits than Mode 2. Mode 3 may encompass the long-term seasonal mean condition where Wf = 1 and Tf = 0 m. Rip cross-shore length scales may be coupled to morphology and outer bar rip systems may be active leading to the potential for transport far beyond the surf zone edge. At the lowest water levels (Tf= -0.5 m) inner feeder channels and bars may began to dry out which may lead to a constriction in the inner bar rip circulation length scale. A key feature may be the increased presence of a meandering longshore current linking adjacent rip cells, but

-252019100219 28 Feb 2019 constrained within the inner surf zone. Shore-normal rip flows may still be sufficiently dominant to drive a relatively high proportion of rip exits.

[0091] Mode 4: Moderate to high energy (Wf > 1) dominated by wave breaking on the outer bar. Exit levels may be low for inner surf zone released drifters. This mode may occur when either the tidal level may be very low (Tf < 0.5 m) and may be associated with spring tides, or the wave energy may be above average (Wf > 2). The active morphological template may include both the inner and outer bars and the inner rip cells are isolated in a saturated surf zone where the outer rip cells may be the dominant feature. Strong alongshore currents may dominate in the inner surf zone, meandering around isolated morphological ‘holes’ that may be associated with weak rotation eddies.

[0092] As shown in Figure 11, the 12 Volt Mega Arduino/CPU board 74 may be in communication with a LED matrix 700. The LED matrix may comprise panels 702 each containing a LED light 704. The CPU board 74 may be programmed such that certain LED lights 704 may be illuminated to spell letters and/or words. This LED matrix 700 may be useful to illuminate lights to convey makeshift safety messages at the location relevant to the particular moment in time in addition to the hazards conveyed by each segment. It may be appreciated that authorised officials and/or lifeguards may be able to access and enter appropriate messages, which is then displayed on the device 10. It may be appreciated that the LED matrix 700 may be located at any part of the device 10. An example of the LED matrix being used is in Figure 1, where the LED lights 704 illuminated the message “beware blue bottles”. The message may be displayed for the moment or the message may be displayed transiently. It may be appreciated that any type of message can be displayed. The LED matrix can be configured such that the woids may appear to move from right to left of the LED matrix such that sentence(s) may be conveyed.

[0093] As shown in Figure 12, a representative display screen of the device 10 may be similar to a touch screen from a smartphone or tablet 800. The tablet display screen 800 may comprise a protective barrier 802 and a touch screen 804. The tablet display screen 800 may be part of a segment of the device 10 for allowing user interaction with the

-262019100219 28 Feb 2019 device 10 similar to the visual representation shown in Figure 8. Alternatively, the table display screen 800 may also be programmed to display messages to the user similar to the LED matrix 700 of Figure 11.

[0094] In another embodiment of the invention, the device 10 may be adapted to display warnings in relation to boating safety. The device 10 may be similar in style and/or operation to the previous embodiments of the invention. The device 10 may comprise an electronic display 12 that may include a plurality of independently operable segments 14, wherein each segment or hazard may be associated with a segment data set or categories. The device 10 may comprise the following segments: thunder storm activity, weather change, winds morning, winds afternoon, tides, and swell. For each of the segments, there may be at least three categories, in which each indicator is associated with each particular category. For the Thunder Storm Activity hazard segment, the categories may be ‘stable’, ‘possible’, and ‘very likely’; for the weather change hazard segment, the categories may be ‘stable’, ‘increasing winds’, and ‘extreme’; for winds morning hazard segment, the categories may be ‘0-15 knots’, ‘15-20 knots’, and above 20 knots , foi the winds afternoon hazard segment, the categories may be ‘0-15 knots’, ‘15-20 knots’, and ‘above 20 knots’; for the swell hazard segment, the categories may be ‘below lm’, ‘ 12m’, and ‘above 2m’; for the tides hazard segment, the categories may be ‘low’, ‘mid’, and ‘high’. It may be appreciated that the time may be displayed next to categories of the tides hazard segment. It may be advantage to provide the time so that boating users will be able to know approximately when they might want to start boating if certain tide conditions and/or height are preferred.

[0095] Similarly, the device may have a similar processing unit and/or electronic components. Similarly, the device may operate in a similar manner to the previously described embodiments. The processing unit may be adapted to obtain retrieved information from relevant databases in which the retrieved information may be relevant to the location of the electronic display and similarly, the processing unit may compare the retrieved information to the predetermined threshold value, and accordingly the processing unit dynamically operates the indicators for each segment. It may be

-272019100219 28 Feb 2019 appreciated that the device may further comprise a LED matrix that may allow official person(s) to display general hazard warnings in addition to the hazard information displayed by the device.

[0096] Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in many other forms, in keeping with the broad principles and the spirit of the invention described herein.

[0097] The present invention and the described preferred embodiments specifically include at least one feature that is industrial applicable.

Claims (5)

1. 2019100219 28 Feb 2019

   THE CLAIMS DEFINING THE INVENTION ARE AS FOLLOWS:

   1. A device adapted for use in displaying beach safety information to users, wherein the device comprises:

   an electronic display including a plurality of independently operable segments, wherein each segment is associated with a segment data set;

   the segment data set comprises a plurality of indicators, wherein each indicator reflects a status of the segment data set, and wherein each indicator is associated with a predetermined threshold value;

   the electronic display comprising a processing unit, wherein the processing unit obtains retrieved information from a database, wherein the database is at least one selected from the group of: a meteorological database, an oceanographical database, and a dorsal watch database; wherein the retrieved information is relevant to the location of the electronic display;

   the processing unit compares the retrieved information to the predetermined threshold value, and accordingly the processing unit dynamically operates the indicators for each segment.
2. 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the segment comprises at least one selected from the group of: rip current information, sand bank information, UV information, shark presence information, jellyfish presence information, time, temperature, and weather information.

   -292019100219 28 Feb 2019
3. 3. The device according to claim 2, wherein the processor operating the indicators for the rip current information segment calculates rip current values based on retrieved tidal data over a predetermined time period.
4. 4. The device according to any one of claims 2 to 3, wherein the statuses of the rip current segment data set are ranked from: developing, present and dangerous; wherein the statuses of the sand bank segment data set are ranked from: take care, shallow, and dangerous; wherein the statuses of the UV segment data set are ranked from: moderate, high, and very high; wherein the statuses of the shark presence segment data set are ranked from: not likely, take care, and dangerous.
5. 5. The device according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising a GPS unit located within the electronic display, wherein the GPS unit is in communication with the processor.