EMILY (Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard)

A lifeguard that does 23 mph: EMILY – Emergency Integrated Lifesaving Lanyard – is a remote-controlled, jet-propelled rescue buoy built since 2010 by Hydronalix of Arizona, a company founded in 2009 by Anthony Mulligan. The 4 ft (122 cm) device weighs about 26 lb (11.8 kg), runs 12 to 14 minutes at full power for more than 5 miles (8 km) and rights itself after capsizing.

Buoyancy of 150 lb (68 kg), four handles and a 2.4 m perimeter line let several people hang on until rescuers arrive. A 2.4 GHz frequency-hopping radio controls it; a camera is optional, and a SONAR version searches for submerged victims. Further variants are Swift Water for rivers and floods, Police and MOBE.

US lifeguards use EMILY, the Office of Naval Research funded its development, and its best-known deployment was the 2016 refugee rescue off Lesbos, where ONR counts around 300 people saved. Older press (2010–2012) quoted 3,500 USD for the base version and 10,000 USD for a fuller kit; the current list price is not published, so pricing is on request.

Its Chinese counterpart, the Dolphin 1, is slower at 12 km/h but floats 150 kg. With fifteen years on the market, EMILY is the longest-serving product in the water-rescue robot class.