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I mentioned ways that the risks could be eliminated or decreased above.
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that would mean that the mosquito would have to fly past in a 3ft radious which is only a small area which would make the device not very efficient??
Heard about this a while back. For reducing the deaths from Malaria, good cause and use of technology in my opinion
Apparently they can even determine whether the mosquito is male or female.
~ LB
I agree fully. I fracking hate Mosquitoes...
Photonic fence[edit]
The device works by using infra-red Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps on a fence post to create a field of light. This field of light reflects from retroreflective material on another fence post, much like that used on roads and highway signs, and bounces back to its source.[10] This field of light is monitored by charge-coupled devices (CCDs) similar to the ones used in consumer digital cameras.[11] These cameras are situated on both fence posts and detect shadows in the light between the posts. Once an insect is detected, a non-lethal laser is fired at it. This non-lethal laser is used to determine the size of the insect, and the frequency at which its wings are beating.
The information gathered by the non-lethal laser can be used to determine the type of insect, and even its gender because wing beat patterns are unique to each species and gender. This is important in preventing malaria because only female mosquitoes bite humans.[10] Also, only mosquitoes of the genus Anopheles carry the malaria-causing parasite of the genus plasmodium.[12] All of these determining calculations are done using a custom image processing board[8] using software written specifically for this application. Once the software confirms that the insect is of the targeted species and gender, a safety check makes sure that nothing is in the way of the laser and the mosquito. Once this safety check is completed, the lethal laser is given permission to shoot.
The lethal laser could be one of several low-power consumer lasers, but blue lasers, similar to the ones found in Blu-ray players, are thought to have great potential. Blue lasers are used in preference to other color lasers, such as green and red because they have higher energy, and they also minimize the amount of power used.[11] The lethal laser is fired at the mosquito and is able to kill it mid-flight. The exact reason for the mosquito’s death is unknown[citation needed], but it is likely that the mosquito simply overheats and dies.[10] In a video published by Intellectual Ventures, the mosquito's wings appear to be sliced off and the body drops to the floor, often motionless.[13] Jordin Kare has published instructions on how to build a DIY photonic fence.[14] 3ric Johanson published information about the history of the device and how the system works in Make Magazine Issue 23.[8]
I stand corrected. I thought it was using an array of microphones to find the mosquitos.
It seems many people in this thread have not seen the TED video.
Nathan Myhrvold: Could this laser zap malaria? | Video on TED.com
The laser stuff is about 2/3rd of the way in, but I highly recommend watching the whole thing.
Very cool technology.