Turtle-saving tech: Thai students invent beach lamp

Thailand’s sea turtles are getting a lifeline, thanks to a bright idea from students at Chulalongkorn University. Enter COCOLAMP—a clever light-diverting bulb shade designed to protect baby turtles from disorienting beach lights, ensuring they can safely crawl to the sea. With sea turtles at risk of extinction, this innovation could make all the difference.

Lights from beachfront hotels, resorts, and restaurants pose a serious threat to hatchlings. These lights confuse the turtles, leading them away from the ocean, often resulting in dehydration or predation.

The Turtle Rangers, a student group from the Faculty of Science, were inspired by successful turtle-friendly lighting experiments on Florida’s Anna Maria Island, said Monnapat Sringern, one of the innovators behind COCOLAMP.

“We want people and turtles to live happily together.”

The design follows guidelines from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), using low-wattage, low-wave bulbs fitted with shades to divert light away from the beach. The COCOLAMP is not only turtle-friendly but also eco-conscious. It’s made from local coconut fibre bonded with rubber and coated with rice husk silica, making it water-resistant, flexible, and biodegradable.

The innovation doesn’t stop at lighting. COCOLAMP is paired with a LINE Chatbot system that helps users collect and report data on its effectiveness. This tech-savvy feature ensures ongoing evaluation and improvement of the system.

Monnapat and her team hope COCOLAMP will spark broader awareness, inspiring eco-tourism and community action.

“Eco-tourism around sea turtles can generate up to seven times more income than hunting them.”

This balance between conservation and tourism is at the heart of their mission, with plans to turn COCOLAMP into a start-up for even more eco-friendly innovations, reported The Nation.

In related news, lifeguards at Bang Tao Beach in Thalang district, Phuket, faced an unexpected rescue mission on the morning of September 19 when a 30-kilogramme sea turtle, too weak to swim, was found washed ashore. The beach patrol team, led by Wirun Chuea-saman, head of the Surin-Bang Tao Beach lifeguards, quickly sprang into action.