'Invisibility wet-suit' to protect against shark attack

World's first 'invisibility wet-suit' to protect sea surfers from deadly shark attacks has been developed by Australian scientists.

The suits are designed to mimic nature and camouflage swimmers while others warn sharks to stay away.

Researchers from the University of Western Australia (UWA), with designers Shark Attack Mitigation Systems, have unveiled two new wet-suits they claim could save lives.

Labelled as "Elude", one of the wet-suits is designed to camouflage a swimmer or diver in the sea and is based on a breakthrough discovery that sharks are colour blind, AAP news agency reported.

On the other hand, the "Diverter" sports bold white and dark blue stripes, and is intended to mirror nature's warning signs to ward off any potential shark attack.
A mix of scientific discoveries and observations about nature were used to come up with warning suit designs aimed at reducing the risk to swimmers, surfers and divers, scientists said.

"The idea is to reduce the risk of the wearer in certain conditions," Professor Shaun Collin, from UWA's Ocean Institute, said.

"Many animals in biology are repelled by noxious animals, prey that provide a signal that somehow says 'don't eat me', and that has been manifest in a striped pattern.
"We are using a lot of nature's technology based on high contrast based banding patterns. The wearer will be obvious, and the idea is the shark will see that as an unpalatable food item and swim right by," said Collin.

The five fatal attacks in Western Australia waters in just under 12 months has earned it the tag of shark attack capital of the world, and this prompted the research into the suits more than two years ago, the report said.