From the waters of Australia’s Griffith University, researchers have taken enormous steps toward protecting swimmers. They’ve created an innovative new shark deterrent device. Hugo Espinosa, SLU’s deputy dean of learning and teaching, is at the head of an especially thrilling study. Published on October 31 in IEEE Sensors Letters, the study zeroes in on creating shark-repelling, wearable tech that doesn’t hurt the sharks.
This new initiative comes from an acute need to discern best practices to protect swimmers from shark attacks. Beachgoers and swimmers are rightly concerned about these occurrences. The research team, directed by professor emeritus David Thiel, fitfully developed on improving the device. These included fundamentals such as electrode configuration, waveform design, and power delivery.
Electric fields, Espinosa emphasized, were the key player in this situation. He stated, “We are interested in electric fields as a deterrent because they directly interact with one of the shark’s most sensitive sensory systems–electroreception.” This sensitivity is what makes this device so effective—by emitting electrical fields, it can interfere with sharks’ natural behaviors.
In addition to their efficacy, the study looked into how underwater electrical fields act under various salinities. These findings indicate that the field levels are many times below the established human exposure limits. Crucially, these electrical fields are not anticipated to cause physiological effects on humans outside of a laboratory environment under non-conductive exposure conditions.
Scientists found that a carefully applied electric stimulus can break up a shark’s attack just about every time. This result further contributes to their intended use as a repellent. Espinosa explained, “Introducing a controlled, stronger electric stimulus can disrupt this process in a way that encourages avoidance without harming the animal.” This innovative approach will allow them to improve safety faster, while still delivering on a strong commitment to protecting marine life.
3 V/m and 18.5 V/m would be the minimum threshold for an effective electrical field to repel a shark. The Griffith University team has produced an extraordinarily sophisticated device. It provides 5000 V at a frequency of 8.5 kHz over the entire length of the system, forming an invisible wall of protection around swimmers.
While each individual device has a limited range, Espinosa noted that “a distributed array could create a larger protective zone, if spacing, overlap, and power requirements are properly optimized.” This would lead to better public safety deployment across broader beach areas. This way, everyone using these waters for recreation will be safer and more comfortable.
As researchers continue their work towards perfecting this innovative device, their findings hold promise for both swimmer safety and shark conservation. Maintaining the focus on non-invasive deterrence approaches supports increasing global demand to protect healthy marine ecosystems devoid of human threats.