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Raspberry Pi for Kill Mosquitoes by Laser

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Re: Raspberry Pi for Kill Mosquitoes by Laser

#251
post #245

Earlier quoted context omitted.

True, but 1 W to damage a mosquito is likely overkill.

I have a 1W laser. Aiming it at your hand and turning it on will immediately cause a painful burning sensation. I've never used it without goggles, but it will burn dang near anything you point it at. The average laser pointer for a presentation, for reference, is less than .005 Watts (<5mW)

A laser used for CDR writing is already powerful enough. The big trick for mosquito hunting is to pulse a number of smaller lasers, briefly, synchronized and aiming for the same spot from different angles. That takes care of the fire and blinding damage but will still harm the much less solid mosquito.

Re: Raspberry Pi for Kill Mosquitoes by Laser

#252

This is important work. An effective non-toxic indoor mosquito control device will eliminate much suffering and death. Malaria prevents Africa from developing to middle-class societies with stable populations and functioning governments that are able to control environmental pollution. Therefore malaria indirectly affects all humans. I think an effective indoor mosquito control system will detect mosquitos with micro…

> middle-class societies with stable populations and functioning governments that are able to control environmental pollution I'm not entirely sure if this is sarcastic trolling or an actual belief of a sane individual but this, this is a load of garbage. So what, if Malaria gets solved the whole continent will suddenly have functioning governments and economies? Do you know how big the continent is? It's history? I…

I grew up in Ghana. I saw first-hand that women in poverty have many children but those with middle-class circumstances have fewer. Africa's population explosion [0] will slow only when the people climb out of poverty [1]. Total world population is half of the climate change CO2 equation.

Malaria has an incredible suppressing effect on entire societies [2]. Many young children get sick with it monthly and miss school. Older children miss school to care for sick siblings. Parents miss multiple weeks of work every year because of it. And even after they're well enough to work again, they're not 100%.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Africa#Populat...

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Income_and_fertility

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malaria#Economic_impact

Re: Raspberry Pi for Kill Mosquitoes by Laser

#253
post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've had malaria many times. My friend's sister died from it. It is not a laughing matter.

That comment is so completely off the wall I'm just astounded. Nowhere in that guy's post about how to make this silly gizmo did he make any kind of claim about reducing diseases of any kind spread by mosquitoes. I don't know if you're blaming him for not preventing your friend's sister's death and you getting sick or mad at me because I didn't blame him. But your complaint does make me wonder what you're doing to so…

> These kinds of things are really just intended to be a fun proof of concept or a demo of something off the wall for shits and giggles.

I interpret this sentence to say the mosquito laser is an unserious project. Saying that something is "for shits and giggles" expresses a flippant attitude. My comment points out that malaria-fighting projects are extremely serious, even if they are ineffective first version tech demos.

> Nowhere in that guy's post about how to make this silly gizmo did he make any kind of claim about reducing diseases of any kind spread by mosquitoes.

The paper starts out with: "More than 700 thousand human deaths from mosquito bites are observed annually in the world. It is more than 2 times the number of annual murders in the world. In this regard, the invention of new more effective methods of protection against mosquitoes is necessary. In this article for the first time, comprehensive studies of mosquito neutralization using machine vision and a 1 W power laser are considered."

> But your complaint does make me wonder what you're doing to solve the malaria problem?

This is a strange thing to say. You are implying that a person who thinks a problem is serious should work toward solving that specific problem. This is not true. There are many serious problems in the world. Each person must make their own decisions about how to use their time, including how much time/energy/resources to spend on themselves, on their family, and on others.

You are employing a tactic called deflection [0]. You try to redirect attention away from yourself by criticizing me. This habit can harm relationships. I hope you can break the habit of deflecting when you feel criticized. Your life will be better if you stop deflecting. Changing habits is super hard. I have been struggling to change my own habits for the last 5 years. It's hard and worth the effort. Good luck and best wishes.

[0] https://www.betterhelp.com/advice/psychologists/what-is-defl...

Re: Raspberry Pi for Kill Mosquitoes by Laser

#254

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> middle-class societies with stable populations and functioning governments that are able to control environmental pollution I'm not entirely sure if this is sarcastic trolling or an actual belief of a sane individual but this, this is a load of garbage. So what, if Malaria gets solved the whole continent will suddenly have functioning governments and economies? Do you know how big the continent is? It's history? I…

I grew up in Ghana. I saw first-hand that women in poverty have many children but those with middle-class circumstances have fewer. Africa's population explosion [0] will slow only when the people climb out of poverty [1]. Total world population is half of the climate change CO2 equation. Malaria has an incredible suppressing effect on entire societies [2]. Many young children get sick with it monthly and miss school…

And Ghana is a good analogue for an entire continent?

> I saw first-hand that women in poverty have many children but those with middle-class circumstances have fewer.

This is true everywhere. Even in super rich first world post industrial nations.

> Parents miss multiple weeks of work every year because of it.

Yes. Otherwise known as sick leave. What's your point?

If a country cannot afford to administer its own healthcare and economic policy, that has nothing to do with Malaria.

The anecdotal evidence is appreciated, and well worth looking into, but the claim that an entire continent's economic and development future hangs on the existence of a treatable disease is hogwash, ignorant and downright irresponsible. Theres work to do here, and spreading dangerously ignorant information does not help one bit.

Re: Raspberry Pi for Kill Mosquitoes by Laser

#255
post #205

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I found a bunch of people to proofread my work for free. Why would you assume everyone charges for everything?

"Why would you assume everyone charges for everything" Where did I do this?!? I know people who do this, but I know many native english speakers. People in russia for example might not have that opportunity.

You wrote: "Why do you assume everyone in the world has native english speakers as friends, willing to do free proofreading?"

So you didn't write that? Ok.

The people who proofread my work aren't in my immediate circle of friends. My point is that you can find people out in the world that aren't in your current bubble.

I have access to people now who speak and read more languages than I ever will. Some of them are in Russia. I think you are inadvertantly placing limits where they may not really be.

Re: Raspberry Pi for Kill Mosquitoes by Laser

#256
post #246

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That comment is so completely off the wall I'm just astounded. Nowhere in that guy's post about how to make this silly gizmo did he make any kind of claim about reducing diseases of any kind spread by mosquitoes. I don't know if you're blaming him for not preventing your friend's sister's death and you getting sick or mad at me because I didn't blame him. But your complaint does make me wonder what you're doing to so…

> These kinds of things are really just intended to be a fun proof of concept or a demo of something off the wall for shits and giggles. I interpret this sentence to say the mosquito laser is an unserious project. Saying that something is "for shits and giggles" expresses a flippant attitude. My comment points out that malaria-fighting projects are extremely serious, even if they are ineffective first version tech de…

You're right. They did say this was a serious attempt to address mosquitoes and disease.

I apologize for thinking this was just for shits and giggles.

In regards to it's design for that purpose I think it's probably awful.

Re: Raspberry Pi for Kill Mosquitoes by Laser

#258
This product is nothing new, and the reality here is that it's existed for quite a number of years. Why don't we see these things out there killing millions of mosquitos? Because the use of camera vision and a galvanometer to attack mosquitos with a laser is PATENTED TECHNOLOGY, owned and licenced by an Israeli company. You can find a Ted talk video where they display literally this same technology. So far, nobody has been willing to pay the astronomical amount of money they are asking to licence the technology and if this guy thinks he's going to start producing these things without a legal fight that will set him bankrupt, he has it coming.

Re: Raspberry Pi for Kill Mosquitoes by Laser

#259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> using a cheap camera even if you had a RED Komodo feeding uncompressed 4K DCI 60fps video to a pci-express bus capture card, the sensor resolution and tiny size of mosquitoes means that unless the lighting conditions are just right, and the mosquito is somehow highlighted against a background, it's going to be very hard to pick them out at distances of 2 or more meters. and that's before you get into the software p…

Would targeting the distinctive mosquito whine be feasible? You could have several bluetooth mikes scattered around the room for good triangulation

Or you could just spray RAID or something similar and kill all the mosquitoes there for pennies. No laser, no bluetooth, no microphones.

And if you want to actually solve the mosquito issue, don't have standing water around. Or make sure fish and frogs can live in it. They love eating mosquito larvae.

Not this boondoggle. Remember, engineering is also about realizing that the fact that you are able to do something doesn't always mean you should.

Re: Raspberry Pi for Kill Mosquitoes by Laser

#260
post #259

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Would targeting the distinctive mosquito whine be feasible? You could have several bluetooth mikes scattered around the room for good triangulation

Or you could just spray RAID or something similar and kill all the mosquitoes there for pennies. No laser, no bluetooth, no microphones. And if you want to actually solve the mosquito issue, don't have standing water around. Or make sure fish and frogs can live in it. They love eating mosquito larvae. Not this boondoggle. Remember, engineering is also about realizing that the fact that you are able to do something do…

it's a good point
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