WAVE was developed over several years by a team of passionate product designers, engineers, aquatic safety experts, aquatic directors and many lifeguards just like you. To learn more about WAVE and the company behind it please click here.
The system uses proven patented and patent-pending technologies, and is used daily at leading aquatic facilities across the country so safeguard 10s of 1000s of swimmers. You can read some of our current customers' feedback here
WAVE was named a 2022 and 2023 Most Valuable Product by Aquatics International magazine, the leading publication for the aquatics industry, was named a World Changing Idea by Fast Company magazine, and won an international FIT design award. The system has been covered in the media by major news organizations including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and several others.
WAVE is also supported by leading water safety advocates and organizations, a first for these organizations for drowning detection technologies. Our system is also the first of its kind to be part of a peer-reviewed study sponsored in part by the Dell Children's Medical Center Foundation.
Anywhere people swim!
WAVE is the world's only drowning prevention system that works in all types of water, including indoor or outdoor pools, waterparks, lakes, bays, rivers and more. It is not affected by water color, temperature, bubbles, currents or clarity, chemicals, minerals, vegetation, or marine life.
All components are designed to be weather-resistant for years of reliable service, and the system can be portable, installed permanently, or set up and taken down for seasonal use.
No doubt, pools are generally safer than dark/open water, yet drownings can and do occur in pools. They happen in pools because sometimes it’s not the visibility of the swimmer that is critical, but the capability of the staff to know that the individual they see submerged is at risk of drowning.
Sadly there are too many stories of children drowning while staff, supervisors and parents were literally standing next to the pool and others were swimming right next to the victim. See here to learn more.
WAVE’s purpose is to detect that critical moment in time when a swimmer has been submerged for a high risk period of time (ex: 30s) and should be checked on.
WAVE is actually deployed, not installed. In fact the system is virtually plug-n-play.
There is typically no need for permits, divers or licensed contractors and your facility can keep on operating while the system is set up.
There's no drilling, cutting, or retrofitting of pool decks, gutters, filtration systems, lighting systems, etc.
For permanent installations, the equipment can be mounted on walls*, desktops, poles, etc. When AC power is preferred, the otherwise portable system requires only standard low power cables.
* Some minor drilling is required for mounting equipment to walls.
The Guardian Hub is capable of reliably monitoring over 100 swimmers, and has a range of up to 700+ feet *.
When the number of swimmers is expected to be greater or the coverage area needs to be extended, additional Monitors and equipment can be integrated.*
* Like all wireless equipment range may vary depending on environmental factors.
LEA (Lifeguard Entry Alerts) is a wireless easy-to-use technology that will alert your facility anytime a guard enters the water. LEA is an included feature in all WAVE systems or may also be purchased as a stand-alone system.
We'll work with you to configure a system unique to your needs, which will include the number of Lifeguard Tags you'll need.
The small tags will be used by your guards, either attached to their clothing, equipment or worn on a lanyard. Any time a guard enters the water, your facility will be notified via audiovisual alerts near the water and throughout your facility. Depending on your system, alerts can also be received on mobile devices.
Learn more here.
We applaud all efforts to prevent drowning. However, unlike WAVE video-based systems use algorithms to detect a motionless body already in the process of drowning, which can be precariously late in terms of having enough time to achieve a rescue without the risk of injury or possible death.
Video-based systems are not portable, don't work in dark water or at night, and can be tricked by glare, shadows and blind spots, just like the human eye.
Lastly, video-based systems also tend to be a much more expensive alternative to WAVE and are much more complex and invasive to install around (and in) the water.
WAVE was intentionally designed to have as little impact on the workload of your staff. Once up and running, your staff does exactly what it normally does during any typical day, i.e., they watch over the safety of your patrons.
Guards wear their waterproof Staff Bracelets, which can be worn all day or easily exchanged during shift rotations.
Staff can distribute and collect Trackers, or your patrons can simply do it themselves, returning the wearables to Storage Racks after swimming ends. It's so simple that even younger children can do it without supervision.
Other than the recommended daily testing before use or charging equipment when needed, no other system maintenance is required.
Please watch this video of Aquatic Directors discussing this topic.
We know your guards are busy enough during the day, so we've designed intuitive storage racks that make getting and returning wearables easy, even for younger swimmers.
We offer two options, a floor stand that can be move easily when needed, or
a wall-mounted version for permanent installation.
Either way, after a few days of using WAVE your swimmers will get into the routine of getting and returning their wearables to either type of rack.
Anytime a swimmer remains submerged beyond the preset maximum amount of time, WAVE notifies lifeguards by vibrating their Staff Bracelets. This action is only for the guards and is called a "Guard Warning".
If the swimmer continues to remain submerged for an additional preset period of time, the WAVE Hub will warn the facility via a flashing LEDs, audio tones and even spoken announcements. This is called a "Public Warning".
The short answer is that your facility does.
The maximum amount of time a swimmer can remain submerged before WAVE starts to warn lifeguards is set by the facility using the system using the WAVE Management App.
Some facilities may prefer a shorter period of time such as 15 seconds while others may prefer a longer maximum time such as 30 seconds. (Note that our Board of Aquatic Advisors recommends that no person–regardless of age or ability– remain submerged for longer than 30 seconds.)
Likewise the amount of time a swimmer can continue to remain submerged after the more discreet "Lifeguard Warning" but before the audio-visual "Public Warning" is also determined by each facility.
As the aquatics staff uses WAVE and learns more about their swimmers' characteristics, these settings can be adjusted quickly and easily via the WAVE Management application.
In a nutshell, no!
Actually the opposite is true. Our customers tell us that using WAVE has actually made their guards more aware and enaged, and helps to lower the stress of safeguarding their swimmers.
Watch this video to hear what they have to say.
We can confidently state that most swimmers forget that they're even wearing a Tracker after a minute or so. They are extremely lightweight and comfortable to wear, even with goggles or swim caps.
Should a Tracker fall off, it will float, and most swimmers intuitively put the Tracker back on. It's that simple to use and wear.
Please watch this video of Aquatic Directors talking about how kids react to wearing Trackers.
Our wearables are made with materials designed to deter the growth of most germs and viruses.
For best protection, we recommend that each swimmer wear their own personal Tracker. However, for those facilities that share wearables, like most shared athletic products, regular cleanings will help to reduce risk.
Clean the wearables with soap and water, and then disinfect. Soaps, disinfectants and bleach do not damage wearables. To find out if your disinfecting product is CDC approved, visit https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2020-04/documents/disinfectants-onepager.pdf.
One WAVE customer recently recommended the cleaner, CUI Solutions Q-64, and uses it on a regular basis for this purpose. Learn more at https://cuisolutions.com/products/disinfectants/.
Remember to wear disposable gloves when cleaning and disinfecting, and be sure to store all cleaning and disinfecting supplies out of the reach of children.
As for swimming in general, chlorinated water common to most pools does a very effective job at reducing bacteria and other germs, including the Corona virus. Learn more from this informative article from LifeScience.com
Concerning lice, the Harvard School of Public Health stated: “Shared helmets and headphones in schools or recreational settings may rarely and transiently harbor an occasional louse or nit; the effort necessary to effectively inspect and clean these devices, however, is not likely warranted.”
WAVE wearables contain a fixed, sealed battery that typically provides up to 18 months to 36 months* before requiring replacement.
Your WAVE system provides the battery status of wearables and will notify your staff if one needs replacing via the Management App.
* Battery life is based on a wearable being used for 8 hours a day. Actual battery life will vary based on actual hours in activated use.
Because our wearables are so lightweight and comfortable, you may find that swimmers may forget they have them on and leave the facility.
To prevent inaccurate warnings WAVE offers optional EXIT DETECTORS which will notify swimmers if they leave the area with their Tracker before a warning would be triggered to guards, and additional MONITORS which cover areas normally used by swimmers outside of the swim area, such as bathrooms and lockers.
Normally you can use a gentle soap and water to wipe the wearables down. For a more thorough cleaning, we recommend using a mixture of one-part water and one-part Ethyl Alcohol. Do not use products containing Sodium Hypochlorite or Ammonia which can damage the plastics over time.
Yes, very safe.
Our wearables use small low-power coin cell batteries and Bluetooth© Low Energy, an extremely low power wireless communications protocol.
The U.S. government sets safety standards for the amount of radiation emitted from consumer devices, and Bluetooth devices such as headphones and earbuds are well below that level, even when placed directly against the skin.
But unlike headphones and earbuds which constantly transmit/receive, our wearables transmit twice a second with each transmission lasting only a millisecond (one thousandth of a second).
For some insightful information about the practical impact of wireless communications on our health, please click here and here.
We believe drowning detection technology should be within reach of all facilities that want to provide their patrons with the highest standard of care possible. WAVE is the lowest cost, most reliable commercial drowning detection system on the market starting at around $7,500.
To learn more about WAVE cost of ownernship and how you can get started, click here.
We believe that any facility–regardless of financial circumstances– should be able to provide their swimmers with the highest level of care that our WAVE systems provide. One approach that has been successful for some of our customers has been securing private and corporate sponsorships and grant monies to fully cover or subsidize in part the cost of deploying WAVE. Learn more here.
If you want to start using WAVE but believe doing so would be financially challenging, we urge you to please reach out to us to discuss ways in which WAVE can help– including special financing terms, using refurbished equipment, and other opportunities.
Yes. After using your system if you learn that you need optional accessories (such as Exit Detectors, additional Monitors or Location Indicators) you can add them to your system at any time.
Even lifeguards who are well-trained and vigilant can be distracted by noise, heat, humidity, glare, blind spots, boredom, patrons, distortion in the water and more.
A drowning can happen in just seconds. It is typically silent and without noticeable movement making it hard to detect and vulnerable to being missed. Learn more facts about drowning here.
While your facility expects you to be diligent at all times WAVE is there to support your efforts, just in case.
Being able to see swimmers underwater is not the same as knowing if they are at risk.
Most drowning victims simply look like someone playing or relaxing below the surface. In fact drownings have occurred with other swimmers and lifeguards right next to the victim.
Also while your pool's water may be clear, seeing a submerged swimmer can be challenged by glare and distortion which can completely obscure their body.
WAVE dramatically reduces the risk of a victim being missed by alerting you if anyone has been submerged for a dangerous period of time (typically 30s but adjustable by your aquatics director or system administrator).
No.
We've intentionally designed WAVE to work in the background to enhance your efforts and not distract you from doing your main job- watching over swimmers.
Our Storage Racks make distribution and retrieval of our wearables so intuitive that even younger swimmers won't need your help getting or returning their Trackers and Goggle Clips.
Other than occasional battery charging, WAVE requires no maintenance. It is really that simple to use.
See what these aquatics directors had to say on this topic:
Anytime a swimmer remains submerged beyond the preset maximum amount of time, WAVE notifies lifeguards by vibrating their Staff Bracelets. This action is only for the guards and is called a "Guard Warning".
If the swimmer continues to remain submerged for an additional preset period of time, the WAVE Hub will warn the facility via a flashing LEDs, audio tones and even spoken announcements. This is called a "Public Warning".
The maximum amount of time a swimmer can remain submerged before WAVE starts to warn lifeguards is determined by the facility using the system.
Some facilities may prefer a shorter period of time such as 15 seconds while others may prefer a longer maximum time such as 30 seconds.
Likewise the amount of time a swimmer can continue to remain submerged after the more discreet "Lifeguard Warning" but before the audio-visual "Public Warning" is also determined by each facility.
As the aquatics staff uses WAVE and learns more about their swimmers' characteristics, these settings can be adjusted quickly and easily via the WAVE Management application.
Yes, the bracelet is completely waterproof.
However we recommend that it not remain submerged more than 1 meter deep for more than a few minutes.
Also, always remember to completely dry your bracelet before charging it.
Yes!
Accidents, such as muscle cramps, slips, falls and head trauma can happen above water and impact a swimmer's safety.
For this reason, it's critical that you strongly encourage anyone entering the water to always wear their WAVE Tracker or Goggle Clips.
Learn more about the real risk of drowning here.
We can confidently state that most swimmers forget that they are wearing their Tracker after a minute or so. The Trackers are very lightweight and comfortable to wear, even with goggles or swim caps.
We've worked on the Tracker design for over two years, testing almost 100 versions to arrive at a design that stays on securely during most swimming activities yet can be easily removed when leaving the water or exchanging with other users.
Should a Tracker fall off, it will float, and most swimmers intuitively put the Tracker back on.
It's that simple to use and wear.
We've tested our wearables on thousands of swimmers and have learned that most kids who are reluctant to wear Trackers or Goggle Clips quickly discover that, after only a few minutes, wearing one is no big deal. (In fact most swimmers forget they even have one on.)
Our take is that setting off WAVE intentionally is no different from setting off a fire alarm and should be treated as such. For those pranksters that continue to do so, we have found that swift removal from the water corrects that behavior quickly.
Lastly, while it might be fun and exciting the first time to set off a warning, most kids will become bored quickly and look for other ways to get into trouble ;)
Listen to what these aquatic directors had to say on this topic:
No, absolutely not!
WAVE is not designed nor is it ever marketed as a solution to replace responsible human supervision.
We strongly support your profession and believe that every aquatic facility and location should have lifeguards present at all times whether they deploy WAVE or not.
Yes, very safe.
Trackers and Google Clips use very low-power radios that transmit for extremely short durations that last less than the blink of an eye. They are much less powerful than a typical pair of wireless headphones or headsets.
For some insightful information about the practical impact of wireless communications on our health, please click here.
Like any shared product, regular cleaning by your facility will reduce the risk of spreading germs. In addition chlorinated water does a very effective job at reducing bacteria and other germs. Learn more in this very informative article from LifeScience.com.
Concerning lice, the Harvard School of Public Health stated: “Shared helmets and headphones in schools or recreational settings may rarely and transiently harbor an occasional louse or nit; the effort necessary to effectively inspect and clean these devices, however, is not likely warranted.”
Normally you can use a gentle soap and water to wipe the wearables down. For a more thorough cleaning, we recommend using a mixture of one-part water and one-part Ethyl Alcohol. Do not use products containing Sodium Hypochlorite or Ammonia which can damage the plastics over time.
WAVE was developed over several years by a team of passionate product designers, engineers, aquatic safety experts, aquatic directors and many lifeguards just like you. To learn more about WAVE and the company behind it please click here.
The system uses proven patented and patent-pending technologies, and is used daily at leading aquatic facilities across the country so safeguard 10s of 1000s of swimmers. You can read some of our current customers' feedback here.
WAVE was named a 2022 and 2023 Most Valuable Product by Aquatics International magazine, the leading publication for the aquatics industry, was named a World Changing Idea by Fast Company magazine, and won an international FIT design award. The system has been covered in the media by major news organizations including ABC, CBS, NBC, FOX, and several others.
WAVE is also supported by leading water safety advocates and organizations, a first for these organizations for drowning detection technologies. Our system is also the first of its kind to be part of a peer-reviewed study sponsored in part by the Dell Children's Medical Center Foundation.
Your facility's lifeguards are extremely well-trained and vigilant. But they're also human and like any human they can be distracted by noise, heat, humidity, glare, blind spots, distortion in the water and more.
The truth is that of those drowning fatalities of children ages 5 to 14, more than half occurred at guarded facilities. Learn more about the real risk of drowning here.
A drowning can happen in just seconds. It is typically silent and without noticeable movement or actions by the victim. In reality it's nothing like what is depicted in movies or on TV. To most people a drowning victim simply looks like a person swimming or playing underwater. This makes it very difficult to detect, even for trained professionals.
WAVE works with facility lifeguards to monitor every swimmer in real time. Because every second counts, WAVE will help guards act on a possible event quickly at the first sign of danger.
Being able to see swimmers underwater is not the same as knowing if they are at risk.
Most drowning victims simply look like someone playing or relaxing below the surface. In fact drownings have occurred with other swimmers and lifeguards right next to the victim. Learn more about drowning facts here.
Also while your facility's water may be clear, lifeguards can be challenged by glare and distortion which can completely obscure a submerged body.
Having WAVE used at your facililty means that the risk of a potential event being missed is dramatically reduced. That's peace of mind for you, your children and the facility.
No, not at all.
In fact we have found the opposite to be true: Most guards want to detect any potential event before WAVE does.
We have found that most guards feel less stress and pressure when WAVE is supporting their efforts to provide a safe swimming environment. We believe that having less stress means a healthier work environment which equates to more effective lifeguarding.
Hear what these aquatic directors have to say on this topic:
The maximum amount of time a swimmer can remain submerged before WAVE starts to warn lifeguards is determined by the facility using the system.
>Some facilities may prefer a shorter period of time such as 15 seconds while others may prefer a longer maximum time such as 30 seconds.
>Likewise the amount of time a swimmer can continue to remain submerged after the more discreet "Lifeguard Warning" but before the audio-visual "Public Warning" is also determined by each facility.
>As the aquatics staff uses WAVE and learns more about their swimmers' characteristics, these settings can be adjusted quickly and easily via the WAVE Management application.
Yes!
Accidents, such as muscle cramps, slips, falls and head trauma can happen above water and impact a swimmer's safety.
For this reason, it's critical that you strongly encourage anyone entering the water to always wear their WAVE Tracker or Goggle Clips.
We can confidently state that most swimmers forget that they are wearing their Tracker after a minute or so. The Trackers are very lightweight and comfortable to wear, even with goggles or swim caps.
We've worked on the Tracker design for over two years, testing amost 100 versions to arrive at a design that stays on securely during most swimming activities yet can be easily removed when leaving the water or exchanging with other users.
Should a Tracker fall off, it will float, and most swimmers intuitively put the Tracker back on.
It's that simple to use and wear.
We've tested our wearables on thousands of swimmers and have learned that most kids who are reluctant to wear Trackers or Goggle Clips quickly discover that after only a few minutes wearing one is no big deal. (In fact most swimmers forget they even have one on.)
Our take is that setting off the WAVE system is no different from setting off a fire alarm and should be treated as such. For those pranksters that intentionally cause warnings, we have found that swift removal from the water corrects that behavior quickly.
Lastly, while it might be fun and exciting the first time to set off the system, most kids will become bored quickly and look for other ways to get into trouble ;)
Hear what these aquatic directors have to say on this topic:
No!
WAVE is not designed as a solution to replace responsible human supervision.
We strongly support the use of lifeguards and believe that every aquatic facility and location should have responsible vigilant supervision present at all times whether they deploy WAVE or not.
Yes, very safe.
Trackers and Google Clips use very low-power radios that transmit for extremely short durations that last less than the blink of an eye. They are much less powerful than a typical pair of wireless headphones or headsets.
For some insightful information about the practical impact of wireless communications on our health, please click here.
Our wearables are made with materials designed to deter their growth.
For best protection, we recommend that each swimmer wear their own personal Tracker. However, for those facilities that prefer to share wearables, like most shared athletic products, regular cleanings will help to reduce risk. Also, the chlorinated water common to most pools does a very effective job at reducing bacteria and other germs, including coronavirus.
Concerning lice, the Harvard School of Public Health stated: “Shared helmets and headphones in schools or recreational settings may rarely and transiently harbor an occasional louse or nit; the effort necessary to effectively inspect and clean these devices, however, is not likely warranted.”