'Black box' could give early shark warnings

A world-first helicopter "black box" that could be used to transmit the position of sharks and swimmers directly to laptops in surf clubs could soon be in full production.

Queensland Innovation Minister Tony McGrady said the state Government would give A$38,850 to Caloundra's Helicentre Australia to further develop its HeliMax prototype for the Australian, Canadian and US markets.

HeliMax combines mapping, data recording and remote messaging into one unit that could then be used to monitor helicopter hours, record incidents and provide a permanent record of flights.