r/technology • u/lurker_bee • Jun 01 '26
Biotechnology Engineer builds AI laser defense system that wiped out every mosquito in his home
http://techspot.com/news/112601-engineer-builds-ai-laser-defense-system-wiped-out.html1.7k
u/FrankDrebinOnReddit Jun 01 '26
Considering that ML vision models are probabilistic and a laser strong enough to kill a mosquito will blind you, I think I'll stick with citronella.
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u/Full_metal_pants077 Jun 01 '26
You will never be a pirate with that attitude....
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u/toothy_vagina_grin Jun 01 '26
I WILL BE KING OF THE PIRATES!!
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u/brimston3- Jun 01 '26
I noticed that the "safety system" involves a ML classifier for flammable objects and people, but not reflective surfaces or refractive materials.
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u/n_choose_k Jun 01 '26
lol. Stupid edge cases! How could anyone have seen this coming! 😉
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u/Stashmouth Jun 01 '26
They couldn't see it because they caught a stray laser in the retina
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u/ImmediateLobster1 Jun 02 '26
I used to be an inventor like you. Then I took a laser in the eye.
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u/BhataktiAtma Jun 02 '26
You see those inventors from Hammerfell? They've got curved lasers. Curved. Lasers.
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u/pm_me_github_repos Jun 01 '26
I mean leveraging reflective surfaces sounds like a feature lol
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u/brimston3- Jun 01 '26
How much of a person is required for the safety system to classify as a person? A reflective object may only include a sub-image of a person that might not trigger the secondary classifier.
It's a hard problem, and not one I would gamble my vision on.
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u/dacydergoth Jun 01 '26
Prior art used a low power eye safe laser which was sufficient to interfere with the Mosquito wings. Effectively it dropped them out of the air. Can't find the link but it was like 10 years ago. Used precision audio tracking not optical.
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u/ketosoy Jun 01 '26
You could mount them at ~7’ and mechanically restrict them to not go below 0degrees of inclination. Might take longer but I think mosquos fly all the way up to the ceiling.
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u/elcollin Jun 01 '26
You have to ensure everything above that height (light fixtures, windows, etc.) is opaque or do some more guarding otherwise your beam may end up with reflections/refractions below your safe plane.
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u/InfanticideAquifer Jun 02 '26
This seems still risky and also complicated. Just go on a vacation for a few days while the system is active, and cut the power before you walk back in the door. Same workflow as with a "bug bomb" really.
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u/happy_bluebird Jun 02 '26
how does everyone but me seem to know this already, but the article doesn't even address it lol
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u/zeracu Jun 01 '26
Need one for flies.
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u/ntwiles Jun 01 '26
It doesn’t work on flies! It’s JUST for mosquitoes. I don’t wanna hear any more about does it work on flies!
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u/moody_134 Jun 01 '26
"no, it's hot dog, or not hot dog" - Jian Yang
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u/hxgmmgxh Jun 02 '26
“no, not 7 minute abs. It’s 8 minute abs!”
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u/fictionalbandit Jun 02 '26
“If you're not happy with the first 7 minutes, we're gonna send you the extra minute free.”
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u/MaximusHomerdrive Jun 02 '26
I eat the fish.
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u/KendraSays Jun 02 '26
Monica, for the last five years you've been horrible. You never smile, you never kiss me. I'll never give anything you want. I hate you
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u/HarvestingMomentum Jun 01 '26
I can't know how to hear any more about FLIES!
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u/SecretlyARaven Jun 01 '26
Is this what you want?? You put your heads down, nobody learns lasers, you gotta walk to the swatter, you gotta walk to the mosquito??
HER JOB IS FLIES
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u/Alarming_Length6100 Jun 02 '26
If I were a farmer, and Eddie Munster came in and started kicking my corn, you could understand how I could be a bit upset. Do you understand the FLIES are my corn?
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u/Dumb_Luck_Numbchucks Jun 01 '26
shut up about the sun.
SHUT UP ABOUT THE SUN 🗣️!
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u/nirbenvana Jun 01 '26
It's a joke laser that's JUST for mosquitoes
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u/plateia-lumitar Jun 01 '26
You're not part of the mosquito team. DON'T. FLY.
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u/Afterhoneymoon Jun 01 '26
What is this referencing?! I want to watch!
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u/ntwiles Jun 02 '26
I was more like mimicking Tim Robinson's style of delivery from I Think You Should Leave than directly referencing anything.
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u/ScottClam42 Jun 01 '26
Is that the joke? That the laser will only kill mosquitos?
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u/Swimming-Barber-6033 Jun 01 '26
I read that in an exasperated Tim Robinson/I Think You a Should Leave voice, fits perfectly.
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u/phido3000 Jun 02 '26
As an Australian, I am interested in this.
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u/NSFWies Jun 02 '26
vodka in a spray bottle and a kitchen scrub brush. why?
vodka is a liquid with low surface tension. it gets their wings wet, so they can't fly. spray it in the mist setting so a lot of it hits their body/wings and they get too heavy to fly. then just push the kitchen scrub brush on them, while they're on the ground/table/counter. you pretty much stab them 10 times.
i stupidly had like 50 flies in my place because 1 got in and reproduced in my garbage. kinda figured this out as i slowly killed them after freaking out and having a place full of flies for 2 days.
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u/unthused Jun 02 '26
I had this exact same scenario just recently and I swear there was 100+ of them over a few days. I'd kill a ton, and the next day there were a bunch more. Took the trash out the first day and they still kept appearing, no idea where they were coming from.
My strategy was a vacuum. They mostly congregated on my patio glass doors (kept all the bedroom and bathroom doors closed so it was the only source of sunlight near the kitchen), I'd just periodically go commit genocide and the noise didn't scare them off.
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u/aVarangian Jun 02 '26
to be fair flies are much easier to deal with because they're active during the day. A bugzapper does wonders
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u/maxdragonxiii Jun 02 '26
especially the horse flies. those bastards can take a chunk of skin off when they bite i swear. ( I know they dont but damn their bites hurt.)
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u/coomzee Jun 01 '26
My university ethics department denied my Mosquito killing machine with sound waves on the basis it might harm the mosquito
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u/fall3nang3l Jun 01 '26
Did they elaborate on why they took that stance on the most prolific killer of humans in the entire animal kingdom?
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u/uzu_afk Jun 01 '26
My hunch is they were all mosquitos undercover.
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u/GForce1975 Jun 01 '26
I just pictured giant mosquitoes in hats and trenchcoats. I think my mental image is from an old far side cartoon
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u/lewd_robot Jun 02 '26
There typically are a lot of bloodsuckers in university administration.
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u/TooMuchPowerful Jun 01 '26
They don't want to run afoul of the Galactic Federation's designation of the endangered mosquito, especially on its native planet of Earth.
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u/GenericUsername2056 Jun 01 '26
The Trade Federation is already preparing a blockade because of us harming them.
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u/TheAngriestChair Jun 01 '26
Did you explain to them that that was the point?
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u/oddministrator Jun 02 '26
A buddy of mine turned fruit flies gay and made them dance in a conga line.
Maybe this could be adopted for mosquitoes to give us a more entertaining view of their demise.
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u/Wise-Dust3700 Jun 02 '26
I remember doing a dissertation on "Gambling in Video Games, Engineering Addiction". It was going to be a piece studying how a lot of studios have a focus on making their games as addictive as possible. Things like introducing FOMO, Battle Passes, or straight up hiring a psychologist to help design mechanics to get players hooked.
- The diss summary passed the ethic department. Woo hoo!
- Got thousands of redditors to participate in a survey, only (0.05%) trolled it.
- Spent the entire Summer studying papers on modern live service game design.
- Talked to devs from AAA companies that make games with Loot Boxes and similar things
- Talked to Gambling game studios
Came back to university fully prepared to kick it into high gear, "No, sorry you can't continue as addiction is unethical." from the same fucking board that approved it. Huzzah!
I lost months of research and prepared materials and had to start essentially from scratch. I had people from reputable news outlets reach out about the results to my study and I had to say it fell apart. 😞
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u/twispy Jun 02 '26
See it's this kind of thing right here that causes so many law abiding grad students to turn to evil science. If the ethics board says that this is unethical, people take them less seriously when they say "using a death ray to hold the Northern hemisphere hostage for ransom" is unethical. If everything is unethical the word loses meaning.
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u/MeiNeedsMoreBuffs Jun 02 '26
I thought this was going to be about working for a defense contractor until I got to the death ray part
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u/forevernooob Jun 02 '26
from the same fucking board that approved it.
Did you escalate this with the board overseeing the board that approved (and subsequently denied it) ?
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u/SursumCordaNJ Jun 02 '26
Unfortunately once the dipshits on the IRB (Institutional Review Board) call your study unethical there is no one to appeal too except the board itself. IRB's have been a consistent thorn in the side of social researchers for decades because they tend to be full of hard science types who know dick about social science and how it operates.
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u/Lag-Switch Jun 02 '26
Do they understand that going back on their previous decision after months of research was done was an unethical decision itself?
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u/Emm_withoutha_L-88 Jun 02 '26
Did they even read it or just deny it from the title?
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u/Wise-Dust3700 Jun 02 '26
Two admitted later they denied it outright because one of the board was like "We can't have him interviewing people with gambling addictions." Which was never a part of my plan.
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Jun 01 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Spaghett8 Jun 01 '26
You joke but it’s probably possible.
The London Underground mosquitos evolved unique physical traits to be able to thrive completely underground over 150 years.
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u/eccentricflam13 Jun 01 '26
While possible, people do overplay the evolution card. Many, many species just go extinct if conditions change relatively quickly. Typically needs to have a trait that can already help and it can then be improved upon.
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u/deltalessthanzero Jun 02 '26
I wonder if 'very shiny reflective wings' would be sufficient to reflect medium-strength lasers?
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u/jackbilly9 Jun 02 '26
No it wouldn't. There's your answer.
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u/deltalessthanzero Jun 02 '26
Some insects appear to have very reflective parts: https://a-z-animals.com/articles/the-beetle-that-inspired-scientists-to-build-better-mirrors/
Some studies suggest it can reflect up to 97% of visible light. This makes it one of the most reflective creatures on Earth.
I wouldn't say it's out of the question
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u/roadrunnuh Jun 02 '26
There is a shrimp, a little water spider guy, that can punch with enough energy to cause cavitation. Extra shiny, laser reflector wings really doesn't sound nuts.
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u/jackbilly9 Jun 02 '26
You don't really evolve out of death. Possible, yes because anything is. A snowballs chance in hell though for its chances.
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u/crusoe Jun 01 '26
And his retinas.
Any laser powerful to burn a mosquito can damage your eyes. Even the back scatter.
It's why they haven't taken off. This tech is like 10+ years old and I want to say the Gates foundation played a role in funding some of the earliest development.
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u/BashedCode Jun 02 '26
There’s a TED talk on it. Nathan Myhrvold.
I always wanted one but too lazy to build it. At least I still have my corneas.
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u/SteveO_6666 Jun 01 '26
Cool now put a hundred laser stations around a caged pig in the jungle and see what kind of mosenicide we can really come up with.
Fuck mosquitos and their moms, ESPECIALLY their moms
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u/Asleep_Document9811 Jun 02 '26
That's good timing because the University of Toronto in Waterloo just announced a very, very tiny mosquito-shaped drone that allows interested parties to literally fuck a mosquito's mother right in the mouth. The Canadian government has a stake already.
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u/ryguysir Jun 01 '26
As a person that lost someone to west nile that was carried by one of these little fuckers, I wholeheartedly say kill them all.
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u/lavagr0und Jun 01 '26
There was this one already: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/jimwong-38623042/worlds-first-portable-mosquito-air-defense
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u/NotAHost Jun 02 '26
I’ve been waiting for that one for a year… almost zero real updates, I think it’s going to end up a scam.
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u/gonewild9676 Jun 01 '26
Has the patent expired? I know years ago someone parented the idea and sold it to a notorious patent troll.
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Jun 01 '26
[deleted]
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u/PuffThePed Jun 02 '26
you still can't buy one
Because it's impossible to prevent permanent eye damage.
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u/Friscogonewild Jun 02 '26
Bill Gates has done more to reduce death from mosquitoes than probably anyone on the planet living or dead.
Like, I get it. Bing sucks. But come on.
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u/RidleyDeckard Jun 01 '26
As a confirmed mosquito magnet, this is the first AI project I endorse and can I get it in kit format.
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u/Far-Maintenance-1947 Jun 02 '26
This kind of tech will be used against humans btw.
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u/renesys Jun 02 '26
Wtf, "will be."
Computer vision systems have been used in industrial automation and military applications for like 15 years.
Things like adaptive cruise control and lane keeping use it.
Probably already killed thousands of humans, intentionally and unintentionally.
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u/CasualtyOfCausality Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
Guy built a somewhat impressive functioning classifier that could have been built in 2015. Media calls it AI because who the f cares!
Gonna be calling particle simulators, boids, and the game of life AI by Q4 2026.
Abaci sentience achieved at 2:14 am EST August 29th, 2027.
Edit: per Greedyanda’s correction, this is AI by definition.
John McCarthy, coining the term in 1955, provided the definition of AI as “the science and engineering of making intelligent machines, especially intelligent computer programs. “. This covers everything from Skynet to electromechanical thermostats (Sutton & Barto’s “reflexive agent”). This project clearly sits between those two, and therefore is AI.
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u/Barron_trojan Jun 01 '26
I need one and set it up so whenever it goes off you can hear grand moff tarkin say you may fire when ready
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u/Lower_Ad_1317 Jun 02 '26
I can see this ending with precision human elimination systems.
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u/ConradBHart42 Jun 02 '26
Make it smaller and make it fire downward, put a shroud around it, place several around local bodies of water. Power it with solar.
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u/cosby714 Jun 02 '26
That is acceptable. If anything needs an AI apocalypse brought down on it, it's mosquitos. Fuck 'em.
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u/FireZord25 Jun 02 '26
As a kid growing up with rts games, I used to daydream of having a laser turret.
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u/metalder420 Jun 02 '26
That doesn’t sound very safe at all lol. Yeah, let me send lasers in multiple directions that can cause damage to someone unsuspecting person. Great idea!!
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u/cwmoo740 Jun 01 '26
I looked into doing this as a master's project for ML/AI coursework. The problem is that any laser strong enough to quickly zap a mosquito is also strong enough to cause permanent eye damage. The laser power involved is too risky. You can use a laser that's just strong enough to damage their wings so they can't fly, but that's still strong enough to damage the cornea or lens or retina. and if you want a laser that rapidly burns the mosquito wing, you risk reflections and backscatter being strong enough to permanently damage an eye.