New Wetsuit Design may Save Lives by Tricking Sharks [VIDEO]

A team of Australian scientists and wetsuit designers have developed a pair of anti-shark wetsuits that can camouflage swimmers from the colorblind fish or trick sharks into thinking whoever is in the wetsuit is poisonous.

Designers at the company Shark Attack Mitigation Systems (SAMS) and researchers from the University of Western Australia collaborated on the technology behind the project, which resulted in two wetsuit concepts: one with a blue pattern which cannot be seen by colorblind sharks, and another that utilizes a starkly contrasting stripe pattern that mimics the colors of poisonous fish.

Western Australia has a reputation for good surfing, as well as shark attacks -- the state has seen five fatal shark attacks in the past year. It is hoped that widespread adoption of the defensive camouflage wetsuits will reduce the number of attacks.

While sharks can sense weak electrical fields in the water and can detect odors, the team at SAMS contends that vision is crucial in the final phase of a shark attack.

"Whilst sharks are able to detect prey over long distances using various neuroreceptors, research has shown that in the final stages of an actual attack the ability to see the prey is critical," SAMS states on its website. "By disrupting the shark's visual perception, an attack can either be diverted altogether or at least delayed to allow time for evasive action."

The company says that while sharks only see in black and white, their ability to perceive shading is very acute. Thus, by using specific colors the camouflage wetsuits will take on light-reflective properties that will cause the suits to blend in against background colors and make perception difficult, according to SAMS.

Covered in a jagged blue pattern, the Elude suit is meant to conceal divers from sharks. A black and white banded suit called the Diverter is meant to trick the sharks into thinking the wearer is poisonous.

Speaking about the Diverter, Shaun Collin, a professor at University of Western Australia involved in the project, told The Guardian that the suits would make the wearer very obvious to the shark, which will perceive the Diverter as an unpalatable piece of food and move on.

"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," Collin said, adding that using nature's own technology in design is becoming more commonplace.

The ant-shark suits retail for about $500, according to The Daily Mail.