Founded in 2017 after a series of drownings in Israel, Coral Smart Pool developed the first and only virtual lifeguarding system for residential pools. The revolutionary system, called Mylo, offers 24/7 active pool surveillance. It was designed to prevent accidental pool drownings, which is one of the leading causes of death in children.
“88 percent of drownings occur when at least one adult is nearby,” Sadie Bisharat, CEO of Coral Smart Pool, tells me. “In order to avoid these statistics, it’s not enough to have barriers to enter the pool. Even if we have a fence and AI products detecting when someone enters the pool, the alarm system is usually disabled when the pool is active. And 88 percent of drownings occur when the pool is active, after we’ve disabled all the protections. Therefore, the only solution to avoid drowning is active monitoring of activity in the pool that works all the time.”
Mylo was developed to do just that. It has a three-layer safety detection system: an alarm sounds and users receive alerts when someone enters the pool after it has been empty for five minutes, in the case of a pre-drowning, and in the case of a silent drowning. Thus, adults who are distracted or have momentarily stepped away from the pool area can immediately run back to address the situation.
“When all other equipment stops, that’s when Mylo begins its job,” Bisharat asserts. “This is the biggest differentiation between Mylo and all other safety equipment designed for residential pools.”
Mylo uses above-water and underwater cameras with a variety of sensors to distinguish between normal pool activities and drowning. The software draws on a combination of machine learning and neural networks, using highly advanced technology. Videos of drowning movements have been analyzed, and its findings embedded into the software to create a unique and sophisticated product.
Bisharat explains, “When a child under the age of 5 is drowning, the technology is able to identify that it’s a child under 5, not a robot that is cleaning the floor, or a toy. It knows that children that age sink to the bottom of the pool like a rock, that there is no pre-downing activity, nothing. And it will sound an alarm within 10 seconds. 10 seconds is good enough because if you save the child in the first 2 minutes, then this is enough. If you save him between 2-4 minutes, only then do you need to do CPR. That’s why we give notice within 10 seconds.”
Mylo is easy to install. Most residential pools do not exceed 10 square meters, which is Mylo’s maximum capacity. However, for those who have larger pools, an additional Mylo can be purchased and synced with the software of the first Mylo for a full safety experience.
As for the customer response, the feedback on the beta version, released in 2020, has been overwhelmingly positive. Coral Smart Pools produced a few hundred units, which sold out quickly, reinforcing proof of concept.
Mylo is just a first step for Bisharat and the Coral Smart Pool team. Following their motto of Saving Lives First, Enhancing Lives Second, they are continuing to explore how computer vision can make the pool of the future not only safer, but more intelligent, more automated, more fun, and enhance wellness and lifestyle.
The potential for smart pools is endless, and Bisharat elaborates on just how perceptive and valuable future smart pools can be for owners and users alike.
“For example, the computer vision can see the clarity and quality of water and determine if there is a chemical problem or another issue,” he says. “A smart pool can tell the other equipment what to do and when to do it, so if there is a quality issue, it can fix it immediately. If there are too many leaves on the top, it can tell a skimmer to work harder. If there are leaves at the bottom, it can tell the robots to start cleaning.”
A smart pool can also help create a better, healthier and more enjoyable pool experience.
“There is also the wellness area and the fun area,” Bisharat notes. “For example, the pool can coach you when you are swimming, or count the number of laps you do, see if the water level is too high or too low. Computer vision can be the eyes and the mind of the pools of the future.”
Mylo pre-orders began in October and can be placed on Coral Smart Pool’s website at www.CoralMylo.com. Mylo ships worldwide, although Coral Smart Pool is specifically focusing on the US market, especially in areas with an abundance of residential pools, such as Florida and California.
