Patented in 19 countries and planning to start the international expansion of its business next year, the Spanish startup MySmartBeach ensures that its SOS Point device allows anyone to perform a rescue of up to 3 people in danger of drowning in an easy, fast and safe way.
As Juanjo Andreo explains, SOS Point is “like a cabin that is permanently operational on the beach. This cabin has a hatch that, when opened, allows the rescuer to equip himself with a harness to which a life line is attached”. This solution is designed so that anyone, without having to be a lifeguard professional, can simultaneously rescue up to three people without putting their lives at risk and at any time of the day; regardless of whether the victim is conscious or not.
This point, that of not putting one’s life at risk, is a crucial element, since, as Francisco de Haro, founder and CEO of MySmartBEACH, points out, “a not inconsiderable number of victims are people trying to rescue others whose lives is in danger and they have neither the means nor the necessary knowledge to carry out this task in a safe way”; It is what is known as thewrong hero”.
Thus, when the rescuer reaches the person or persons in danger, if the facility or the beach has this device “he simply has to grab them and holding down a button that will bring them to shore in approximately 60 secondseffortlessly and ready to provide any further assistance.”
In addition, the device automatically notifies emergencies, making it possible for an ambulance to be waiting when the rescuer arrives back on shore.
In tests
The founders of MySmartBeach ensure that SOS Point is effective on beaches, lakes and rivers, where its “powerful motor helps to overcome the forces of the currents and it has a rescue distance of up to 300 meters” while, in the pool, since the dimensions are small, “it is more advisable to jump directly for the person”.
However, it should be noted that for now it has been tested in demos since “It has not yet been the case that it has had to be used to save a life”.
MySmartBeach ensures that we are dealing with a B2A (Business to Administration) business in which the fundamental income is obtained from the sale of devices to municipalities, beach management licensee companies, NGOs and private clients, such as hotel chains or beach bars. The sale of each SOS Point brings with it the generation of recurring income for maintenanceamong others.
At the moment, MySmartBEACH clients are concentrated in Spanish municipal councils, although “there are various operations in Israeli municipalities under negotiation.” According to their data, only in Spain there is an available market of around 56 million euros, although from 2024 it is expected to undertake international expansion with the sale in “at least three countries; 2025 will mean the international consolidation of the company, practically doubling the turnover of the previous year, adding another 7 countries to the international network”.