Mosquito Pew Pew 2

Advancements have been made! If you would recall, last year I mentioned a program for mosquito control that involved lasers. The driving force is to reduce malaria, but I see a lucrative home market dyeing for this tech.

Well, this article reveals that a working prototype exists made from second hand ebay electronics. Here's how it works. Infrared LEDs, like the one in your remote, are installed in fence posts around the protected area. They beam light in a line from one post to another creating a barrier of light.

A camera on each fence post detects shadows cast by insects breaking the light plane and directs a small nonlethal laser beam to the insect. The nonlethal laser illuminates the insect and measures size and wing speed. Based off of that information it determines the type of insect.

The software is able to distinguish between male and female mosquitoes, bees, flies, etc. Once it has been determined to be a female mosquito, the only human biting mosquito, the firing arc is checked for obstruction. If nothing is in the way, a more powerful laser is activated to destroy the bug.

That sounds pretty cool, but personally I'd like to see some slow motion video of it in action.



I love the plumb of smoke as they go down like WWI fighter planes.