By John Vibes,
Researchers in Australia are developing a new device that will track the movements of sharks and warn lifeguards when they are approaching the shore. The company, Shark Mitigation Systems is based out of Australia, but this technology is planned to be implemented all over the world. This system does not actually require any sort of tracking devices to be implanted into the animals, but instead works by using a buoy that emits sonar waves that are programmed to detect shark-shaped objects.
The device is called the “Clever Buoy” and is also programmed to detect the way that sharks swim and their typical pattern of movement in the water. There are a series of powerful and complicated algorithms that work to identify sharks. When data comes in that shows signs of a shark, lifeguards on shore will receive a text message about the nearby sharks, and the lifeguard will be able to clear the beach before they arrive.
This system is an amazing invention not just because of its capability of saving human lives, but also because it can do so without endangering the lives of any sea mammals, or tagging them with tracking microchips.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv5b4jwABiw?feature=player_embedded]
Throughout the year of 2014 Clever Buoy will be involved in a Research and Development program with Google and other companies who are contributing to the project. This research and development plan is aimed at developing a prototype, that could be available to the market in just a few short years.
According to the Shark Mitigation Systems website “This first stage of this R&D project is trialled the feasibility of the system. When detection is made by the Clever Buoy, Google Plus will be used to alert relevant audiences via the Optus Network.”
The R&D project is a starting point for the future development of a ‘Clever Buoy’ which could be deployed by beaches across the world as a non-invasive method to detect sharks. If successful, the aim is for the Clever Buoys to be available for commercial purchase by mid-2015. ”
It has been reported that this will work by arranging a series of buoys and boxes in a row offshore, running parallel to a beach. These sensors would send out sonar to detect sharks, and whenever one was detected, it would send a warning to the smartphones of local lifeguards.
According to Gizmado, the “Clever Buoy” technology has already successfully identified sharks in tests conducted at the Sydney Aquarium and Australia’s Abrolhos Islands.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYHPe5xHcms?feature=player_embedded]
