Building a Photonic Fence: Using Lasers to Zap Mosquitoes Midflight
By
Jordin Kare
A baker's-dozen of insight crammed into one ring.
Summary
The article describes a project by Intellectual Ventures (founded by Nathan Myhrvold) to develop a "photonic fence" — a laser-based mosquito zapping system. The team, including Lowell Wood, Rod Hyde, and the author, worked on using optical sensors and lasers to detect, track, and kill mosquitoes midflight. The concept evolved from a whiteboard discussion in 2006 into a working prototype that could selectively target mosquitoes while being safe for humans and beneficial insects. The article details the technical challenges, including mosquito detection, tracking algorithms, laser safety, and the engineering required to build a backyard device that could create a protective barrier against disease-carrying mosquitoes.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledSo, how would you kill mosquitoes with a laser?
We smiled because we had just spent the afternoon arguing over that very question, scribbling ideas and calculations on a whiteboard, and had come up with what we thought was a pretty good answer: a 'photonic fence' in the form of a row of vertical posts that would use optical sensors and lasers.
The idea was to create a protective barrier around a home or backyard that would detect and destroy mosquitoes before they could reach people.
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