Blimp used to spot sharks

[mpaineau]

From ABC Radio National Science Show:
http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/pro ... ks/9601422

Kye Adams from Uni of Wollongong has be trialling use of a blimp to spot sharks and distressed swimmers (not necessarily at the same time!) at Kiama Beach. It is a great idea because a blimp can stay in the air, at the same spot, all day. Drones need frequent recharges.

Seems to me to be a much better alternative to shark nets and would actually cost a lot less than paying contractors to deploy and maintain the nets (i.e. remove dead dolphins and turtles).

[Cranked]

Good idea but as far as I know sharks are very hard to spot in the water. About 80% of the time (I'm guessing) the water is just about opaque due to cloud, wind, reflection or suspended sediment.

[Slobadan Madicubich]

Excellent billboard

[marauding mullet]

Oh the humanity

[godsavethequeen]

Good idea but as far as I know sharks are very hard to spot in the water. About 80% of the time (I'm guessing) the water is just about opaque due to cloud, wind, reflection or suspended sediment.

they're probably using a multispectral imaging camera. I watched a programme about it a few years ago - operation maneater it was called I think - and they could pick out sharks up to 3 metres down with a decent level of accuracy. I think these were the people involved https://www.spatialsource.com.au/unmann ... nes-sharks. They've also published 'An Innovative Method for Obtaining High Detection Rates of Sharks on Ocean Beaches' that explains the tech in more detail. I can't link direct to the PDF for some reason but it's on the APH website if you want to wade through it. It seemed like such a good solution that I was always looking out for whether it would make it into the mainstream. Seems like it finally has