I was there as the assistant head of river kayak safety, and it was a historic moment. if you were watching, i was the kayaker wrestling the malfunctioning bouybot back into place under state street. why they couldn't use old fashioned bouys instead of ai bouys? beyond me.
i've also accidentially fallen in the river a couple of times over the past two years, and i will confirm that the water is safe and getting colder every day this time of year.
> i've also accidentially fallen in the river a couple of times over the past two years, and i will confirm that the water is safe
I believe for open water swimming, the definition of 'safety' they're aiming for includes checking the water for human faeces and bacteria like e.coli.
A one-in-250 chance of getting diarrhoea the next day is no problem for clumsy drunks, who'll just be glad to make it out - but for a health/fitness event it's undesirable.
In this image from the Chicago Tribune you can see two of the bots. one is orange, the other yellow. they should have been in a straight line since they were being used to guide the swimmers down the course.
i was told they position via gps and their gps just didn't work downtown.
GPS can be fiddly when you're in a pit or surrounded by lots of tall things that block RF or make the signals bounce around. Clearly the event needed a local GPS augmentation signal :)
i've also accidentially fallen in the river a couple of times over the past two years, and i will confirm that the water is safe and getting colder every day this time of year.