How Intellectual Ventures Photonic Fence Technology kills mosquitoes

The Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes are back thanks to climate change affecting Jamaica and the Ministry of Health is reacting slowly as usual as noted in my blog article entitled “Dr. Taylor links Climate Change to increase in Diseases in Jamaica - Dengue, Pink Eye and Zika Virus coming and Asthma rising”.

Everyone in Kingston, St. Catherine and St. Andrew is buying Mosquito destroyers like crazy, fearing the Chikungunya Virus, Dengue Fever or even worse, a new virus, the Zika Virus coming to Jamaica as predicted in my blog article entitled “Town Hall Meetings for Zika Virus - How Hurricane Danny mean Mosquitoes ready to spread the Virus”.

But people like yours truly cannot light destroyers, as I suffer from bronchitis as detailed in my MICO Wars blog entitled “How to use Alternative Treatments for Asthma and Bronchitis” symptoms of which are is easily triggered by smoke of any sort.

So I use a modified Mosquito Zapper, which has the batteries removed and replaced instead with a Nokia charger that help me to reduce my need to always be buying batteries. But the problem with this is that I cannot see the mosquitoes, so killing them is not easy unless they attack en mass, wasting precious minutes swinging to kill invisible Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes.

So is there a way to kill mosquitoes en mass without suffocating to death or developing a very tired right arm?

Intellectual Ventures Photonic Fence Technology - How a Green Laser, Solar-powered batteries and LIDAR can kill mosquitoes

Turns out there is a system involving the use of photonic fence technology to kill the mosquitoes as described in the article “The Solar Powered Laser Mosquito Zapper”, published March 9, 2015, Energy Matters. 

 

From Oct 3, 2015

Announced in March 2015, the idea is to basically use a laser combined with the same systems used it guide missile to targets to literally fry the mosquitoes in flight. This product kinda reminds me of the Raytheon's anti-missile Directed energy system or LaWS (Laser Weapon System) as detailed in my blog article entitled “Telecom Providers and Raytheon - Star Wars on the high Seas”. 

The Alaskans would welcome this, as thanks to climate change the mosquitoes are getting more bothersome as noted in the article “Automated mosquito-zapping laser? Yes, please”, published March 5, 2015 by Sean Doogan, Alaska Dispatch News.

In fact, they getting abnormally large based on the research from Dartmouth College that suggests that the Arctic Mosquitoes are getting bigger in size as reported in my blog article entitled “Dartmouth College discovers Arctic Mosquitoes increasing in size – Why Global Warming is making Mosquitoes get bigger”.

Originally developed by 1980’s astrophysicist Lowell Wood and perfected by laser specialist and onetime anti-missile defense researcher Jordin Kare, the technology is now the property of Intellectual Ventures, a patent-holding company as reported in the article “Laser Bug Zapper Inches To Market”, published 17 Mar 2015 By Philip E. Ross, Spectrum IEEE.  

The solar powered device, which is a photonic fence made on contract by LED maker Lighting Science Group of Melbourne, Florida as reported in the article “Intellectual Ventures’ laser mosquito zapper lands key licensing deal”, published March 3, 2015 BY Frank Catalano, Geekwire, is funded under a partnership between Intellectual Ventures and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation called the Global Good.

The photonic fence isn't designed to search and destroy every mosquito in range, as they're always going to return. Rather it's aimed at creating a photonic fence that reduces the female population of mosquitoes within a 30 m range.

To quote Senior Vice President at Intellectual Ventures, Maurizio Vecchione, this is basically a cash cow in the making as can't kill 'em all: “Think of the mosquitoes in an area as an infinite reservoir. A photonic fence is a radically different way of thinking of this problem:  Now we have a realistic way of creating a mosquito-free area. Malaria has been eradicated in many areas not by eliminating every mosquito but by reducing the biting rate--if we could take wet-season biting rate to a dry-season level, we could make a major dent in that community’s malaria incidence.”

The motion of the mosquitoes is tracked using a IR (Infrared) LIDAR, similar to the technology used in Google's self-driving Cars as explained in my blog article entitled “Google Self-Driving Vehicle and Track Stand Cyclists - Why Speedy modified Three Laws of Robotics means Driving will be made illegal”.

Once it determines the sex of the mosquito, based on the frequency of the wing beat, the device tracks the motion of the mosquito. The mosquitoes that come within a range of 30 meters are hit with a low power 3-watt, 532-nanometer-wavelength green laser as shown in the video below.

They are not killed, just heated by the 3-watt, 532-nanometer-wavelength green laser to the point where they cannot fly and cause harm to humans and livestock. Thus mosquitoes are kept at bay and their numbers within the photonic fence created by this laser targeting system is significantly reduced.

Intellectual Ventures tight lipped on release date - Testing being conducted to make it human safe

Ideal deployments for this device is in areas where there are a lot of flying insects and sunlight, as the rechargeable Li-Ion Batteries can hold enough charge at nigh to continue to be effective. It can also be modified to also shoot down locusts, houseflies, aphids and other annoying insects.

The product needs further testing to make it human safe, as a 3-watt, 532-nanometer-wavelength green laser straight into your eyes can blind you unless you have on protective goggles. Also, it needs to be able to handle shooting down a lot of incoming insects, as can occur during a locust swarm or a mass migration of aphids or wasps, other insects for which this system can be designed to kill.

The photonic fence technology may also need to have some kind of AI installed so as to discriminate between humans and insects, as it might be tempted to shoot humans if it mistakes them, based on backscatter IR, for an insect. This may be necessary, especially if it is to work in crowded places, as it won't always be the case where it’s installed in locations without humans.

So when is Intellectual Ventures bringing this product to market to help out farmers and Developing World countries to help them combat deadly insects as well as malaria and Chikungunya carrying mosquitoes?

Intellectual Ventures has been very quiet, but I'm sure being that they're part of the Global Good, they'll soon be deploying this Photonic Fence Technology to a lot of customers eager for a non-pesticide laser guided WMD (Weapon of Mosquito Destruction), Raytheon Style, to reduce the insect population.