Product of the Week- Hand-held laser flare, prize-winning Odeo

by Sail-World Cruising on 30 May 2012

Odeo Flare SW

Seawork International, commercial marine and workboat event now in its 15th year in Southampton, UK, annually attracts over 450 exhibitors and 7200 visitors from all over the world. This years Seawork International 'Spirit of Innovation' Award was won by our product of the week, Index Marine's Odeo Flare.

Odeo Flare - deserving winners © SW

The hand-held laser safety flare won both the Innovation Award in the safety product category and was voted overall winner in the Seawork Spirit of Innovation Award.

The Odeo Flare™ is the new alternative to the traditional red pyrotechnic hand-held distress flare. It is similar in size to traditional flares, but instead of using dangerous explosives to burn, it uses battery powered lasers. If you've ever been through flare training(or, worse, the real thing), you'll agree that this is a fantastic innovation.

However, the bad news for Australians is that, according to an AMSA spokesperson contacted by Sail-World this week, 'The Class 3 and Class 3R lasers are illegal in Australia. The Marine Odeo Flare is a Class 3R model and therefore is currently not permitted in Australia.'

Traditional flares will burn for around 30 seconds to a minute maximum before extinguishing. The Odeo Flare™ ‘burns’ for around 5 hours then another five is achieved merely by changing batteries. Because no pyrotechnics are used, the Odeo Flare™ is totally safe when switched off, and because it uses ordinary AA batteries, it can even be safely posted or carried in baggage on flights.

Commenting on the win, Steve Groves, a director of Odeo Flare Ltd said: 'We knew we had a strong innovative product with the laser Odeo Flare, but to win against such strong opposition was a fantastic recognition of the uniqueness of our product and a wonderful accolade from the industry.'

The lasers provide a full hemisphere of light output while the variable speed of the rotating head ensures bright and random flashes. The light output is clearly visible from both the surface and air and has a minimum range of 3 miles.

The Class 3R lasers used in Odeo Flares conform to EN 60825-1 regulations and are not dangerous to the user, rescuer, helicopter pilot or SAR equipment.

Odeo Flares are designed to work in the challenging environments found at sea, are completely waterproof and float if dropped overboard.

They can be purchased online at around $230 (UKP150) by http://www.odeoflare.co.uk/product.php?id_product=1!clicking_here.

Other category winners were:

Vessel Design & Construction: Fender Innovations (SB125) – new concept fender

Marine Equipment, Electronics & Materials: Armada Marine Hydraulics (A209) – Europafilter

Diving & Underwater Technology: Cygnus Instruments (B15) – Cygnus DIVE thickness gauge

Safety & Training: Index Marine (SB120) – Odeo Flare

Renewable Energy: Harken (B67) – PowerSeat

Lifetime Achievement Award winner - Kommer Damen.
After working in the family boatbuilding business, Kommer Damen went on to set up his own enterprise, with just six workers, and introduced the modular shipbuilding concept for small boats and launches. This standardisation – the Damen Standard – gave shorter delivery times, reduced costs and produced proven designs.