During the test, the device, called a reflector, was launched from Royal New Zealand Navy boats and successfully popped up into a three-dimensional shape that survived big waves and was easily seen by satellites as a bright speck.
Earth observation scientist Dr Tom Dowling from the University of Auckland, who developed the prototype reflector with his colleague Ella Fascina, said the goal was to help search and rescue teams know where to search.
Rescue efforts could be like "finding the needle in a haystack", Dr Dowling said.
He was pleased with the test’s results, conducted last week in challenging conditions with the help of the boats launched from the navy ship HMNZS Canterbury, anchored near Campbell Island.
"We were very nervous to begin with but got more confident as the test progressed and are absolutely thrilled at the results."
The project has been funded on a shoestring $40,000 budget from the University of Auckland and the military’s science arm, Defence Science and Technology (DST), and developed with additional help from the coastguard and police.
Dr Dowling said the reflector had been patented and the goal now was to make a more robust version that could be mass-produced for around $60, carried easily on boats and save lives by enabling search and rescue teams to know where to look.
The reflector has been developed from concept stage to trial in just one year. It does not aim to replace the use of personal locator beacons and radios, which remain important for alerting rescue services.
The navy is in the subantarctic as part of Operation Endurance, which is also supporting conservation work on Campbell Island by the Department of Conservation and other agencies.
"We have proved the principle works in New Zealand and we want it to work globally, and that is the point of the testing down here," Dr Dowling said.
The device is also being tested with a range of satellites launched from countries across the globe, including Canada and Europe as well as New Zealand.
Commercially available reflectors are used as navigation buoys or for target practice but the research team found they are not appropriate for search and rescue use.
