RipCo: rip current detection on public beach cameras
A free iPhone app that reads the public camera already pointed at the beach and outlines likely rip currents on the live view. A Year 12 Design and Technology major work, Sydney, 2026.
www.ripcosafety.com/summary · RipCo, Year 12 Design and Technology major work, 2026
The need
- Coastal drowning deaths, 2024 to 2025
- 154
- coastal drowning deaths in Australia in 2024–25, the highest on record1
- Share of beach drowning deaths involving a rip
- 1 in 3
- or more of beach drowning deaths involve a rip current1
- People who cannot spot a rip
- 3 in 4
- people could not spot a rip from the beach2
My own survey of beachgoers: 78% could not confidently identify a rip; 84% would use a mobile tool that shows rips on a live camera; 69% already check conditions before they go.
How it works
A camera that already exists
RipCo reads a public beach camera feed. Nothing is mounted or maintained.
A model reads each frame
It looks for a darker channel, a gap in the breaking waves and foam moving out to sea.
An outline on the live view
A likely rip is outlined in red with the model’s confidence. The flags line stays on screen.
What the app refuses to say
- That a beach is safe. Each card shows a level of risk instead.
- Whether to swim. The flags and the lifesavers decide that.
- That it can see at night, in rain or in glare. It marks detection unavailable.
Status
- Stage
- Prototype
- Detection
- Tested at Manly Beach, public camera
- Platform
- iPhone, free
- App Store
- Not yet submitted
Design criteria and status
| Criterion | How the app meets it | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Show a likely rip on the live view at a glance | Red outline plus confidence figure on the Detect screen | Partly: one beach tested |
| Never say a beach is safe | Risk score, no safe verdict, flags line under each card | Met |
| Work with cameras that already exist | Reads public feeds; nothing installed | Met |
| Say when it cannot see | Detection marked unavailable at night, in rain, in glare | Met |
| The whole picture for a beach in one place | Conditions, risk score, live camera, alerts, patrol status on the home screen | Met |
| Free, on the phone people carry | Free iPhone app, no subscription | Partly: not yet on the App Store |
Sources
- Surf Life Saving Australia, National Coastal Safety Report 2025. sls.com.au
- Surf Life Saving Australia, National Coastal Safety Survey, 2018. sls.com.au/coastal-safety
- UNSW Beach Safety Research Group, rip current research. unsw.edu.au
- Surf Life Saving Australia, BeachSafe. beachsafe.org.au
Full detail: www.ripcosafety.com/about. RipCo is an aid, not a lifeguard. Swim between the red and yellow flags and follow the lifesavers and lifeguards on duty.