Recently listed Shark Mitigation Systems have announced the achievement of their first major milestone after only listing on the ASX last week.
The company says that its unique “Clever Buoy” shark detection sonar is now ready for commercialization after successfully completing a trial at the iconic Bondi beach.
The Clever buoy that was originally backed and supported by Google and now partnered by Optus is a unique marine buoy that has been taught the swimming patterns of sharks and is able to send a signal back to shore when one is detected.
In a major coup for the company, Shark Mitigation Systems were able to secure the support of the NSW Government and The Waverley City Council to place a Clever Buoy at Bondi beach for a pre-commercialization trial that ran from 15 February 2016 to 10t April 2016.
The trial has now been declared a success and the company says that its Clever Buoy technology is now ready for business with numerous enquiries currently being fielded from other beach side Councils around the country with some international interest now being shown.
Importantly the Clever Buoy has now received the formal endorsement of the Australian Professional Ocean Lifeguard Association (APOLA) who say that the Clever Buoy system is a viable shark detection and alert solution for Australian beaches.
According to the company, APOLA stated in correspondence that, in the Association’s view, the Clever Buoy shark detection system is currently the only commercially available detection system capable of deployment in high surf zones to provide real time information for lifeguards that will be of direct benefit to beach users.
APOLA professional lifeguards at Bondi were directly involved in the trial and the application of the information from the Clever Buoy system pre-commercialization trial.
The key objectives of that trial were the construction and testing of a commercial-ready system, the integration of the system with lifeguard activities, the development of the software including the refinement of the system’s learning and recognition of shark signatures at extended range and the development of the sonar hardware to extend effectiveness and range.
Shark Mitigations Systems Co-founder Craig Anderson said: “The trial at Bondi Beach was successful across all measures. The trial has validated the stability and robustness of our current Clever Buoy platform to sustainably operate in real-world Australian beach conditions 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, autonomously detecting and alerting the presence of large sharks that could be a threat to beach users.
“SM8 considers the Clever Buoy system to be commercially available. It has a cost structure that is competitive with alternative options on the market, and has received global expressions of interest for deployment.
"Following this successful trial, beachgoers in many parts of Australia and indeed in other countries can now look forward to safer beaches as we move to deploy this technology in response to the growing demand from local authorities.” Said Mr Anderson
By Matt Birney
