Inventor of Stingray lice laser award finalist
THE creator of the Stingray sea lice laser has been named as a finalist in the European Inventor of the Year award.
Norwegian Ebsen Beck is one of 15 on a shortlist selected by the European Patent Office to go forward to the contest in Vienna on June 20. He is also just one of three contesting the small and medium business section.
The Stingray is a submersible robot that tracks its surroundings and emits a powerful green laser beam in the direction of its target.
On-board computers use stereoscopic cameras and image recognition software to scan nearby fish and pinpoint sea lice on their bodies in just seven milliseconds.
The Stingray then locks its laser beam on to the parasite and fires a short pulse of intense green light. The 532-nanometer-wavelength laser is lethal to the sea lice but reflects off the salmon’s shiny scales.
The Stingray can operate around the clock, killing tens of thousands of sea lice each day, claims its manufacturer, Stingray Marine Solutions.
The company, through which Beck patented and commercialised the technology, has created 50 new jobs in Norway and posted an annual turnover of nearly € 10 million in 2018.
The 2019 finalists in the European awards come from 12 countries and their inventions cover a range of fields.