"AI snoopers" AI helps in the search for missing children on Rimini beach

Every parent's nightmare on summer vacation: the beach is completely overcrowded and suddenly the child is gone. In Rimini on the Italian Adriatic, AI is now helping foreign guests to find lost children.

Using a new computer program, children can be called out in more than 100 different languages via the loudspeakers that have been installed there for decades. The pitch is also changed depending on the urgency.

The loudspeakers for important announcements have been in place in Rimini since 1946. Initially there were only seven, but now there are almost 150. The "voice of the beach" also has its own name: Publiphono. According to the operating company, more than 130,000 children have been returned to their parents over the years.

According to reports in the local press, around 250 loss reports have been broadcast so far this season. These mostly involved children, but also older beachgoers and dogs. According to the local newspaper "Corriere di Romagna", AI was used in around ten percent of cases.

A spokesperson for the operating company said: "The application differs from ordinary language programs in that it uses deep neural networks and machine learning algorithms, which enables more thorough and sophisticated texts."

Rimini, a city of 150,000 inhabitants, is one of Italy's most popular seaside resorts with its many shallow beaches. Temperatures of up to 35 degrees are expected there this week.

The lifeguards expressed their satisfaction with the help provided by AI. However, they also recommend remembering exactly which beach you are on - and the color of your child's bikini, swimsuit or swimming trunks.