All Things Money
SMS co-founder Craig Anderson is a scientist and came up with the idea of SAMS after studying shark sensory systems.
Interesting fact: sharks have seven senses — an electromagnetic sense and sonar as well as the five we humans have. According to Anderson, it is not a shark’s visual sense and taste that lead it to attack humans.
It is usually a case of mistaken identity — sharks see a swimmer or watercraft and think it’s a large fish, seal or dolphin. A shark’s retina works at a speed of about 10 per cent of a human retina, so by the time it has identified what it is seeing, invariably it’s too late.
The specific designs and distinctive colouring of the SAMS marine apparel, watercraft and commercial applications create confusion for a shark’s visual system. Because the shark doesn’t know what it is looking at, it will take more time to work it out or simply swim away.
The problem: is this good idea a testable hypothesis? I for one wouldn’t volunteer to swim by in my multicoloured striped wetsuit to see if I could confuse a shark!
The Clever Buoy is arguably easier to extract value from. It uses sonar technology coupled with software that recognises sharks’ swimming patterns.
Nearly every animal in the ocean has its own unique fingerprint (or is that finprint?) and SMS has developed an algorithm similar to facial recognition software to detect sharks nearby.
The Clever Buoy idea has been tested and genuine demand is emerging from local governments, hotel and resort chains and short term events like triathlons and swimming competitions.
Reducing shark attacks around the world is a good idea. Jumping on board before it is commercialised is less of a good idea.
Investing in a well-tested and proven hypothesis, now that’s clever.
Author Michael Schrage