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Predict 3D position of flying bugs and pest to shoot down them with a laser

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11–20 of 124 posts

Re: Predict 3D position of flying bugs and pest to shoot down them with a laser

#11

This sounds very similar to that old idea for protecting African families from female Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes[0]. I think the idea never took off, and I’m still not sure why. [0]: https://youtu.be/hqKafI7Amd8

Everytime this idea comes up, I can’t imagine a laser powerful enough to kill even small insects not running the risk of collateral damage, burning things around it.

Like my retinas.

Re: Predict 3D position of flying bugs and pest to shoot down them with a laser

#12
post #2

One key thing is that flying bugs might be hiding under leaves, which doesn't even require any tracking, but matching their favorite plants... and hopefully scaring them with an optical flash so they can be tracked.

Beacon lights to draw them out?

We can only take that sort of thinking so far before we reinvent the bug zapper.

Re: Predict 3D position of flying bugs and pest to shoot down them with a laser

#13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Beacon lights to draw them out?

We can only take that sort of thinking so far before we reinvent the bug zapper.

Bug zapper at a distance.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C5vkbtpdN4

https://patents.google.com/patent/US20100186284A1/en

Re: Predict 3D position of flying bugs and pest to shoot down them with a laser

#15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We can only take that sort of thinking so far before we reinvent the bug zapper.

Bug zapper at a distance . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C5vkbtpdN4 https://patents.google.com/patent/US20100186284A1/en

Oh neat, you can even see their horrible little mosquito ghosts go shooting out of their cursed bodies. (it is OK to be completely spiteful toward mosquitos, right? They are like the #1 all-time human killer)

Re: Predict 3D position of flying bugs and pest to shoot down them with a laser

#16

This sounds very similar to that old idea for protecting African families from female Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes[0]. I think the idea never took off, and I’m still not sure why. [0]: https://youtu.be/hqKafI7Amd8

Everytime this idea comes up, I can’t imagine a laser powerful enough to kill even small insects not running the risk of collateral damage, burning things around it.

IIRC (can't find a reference), the idea was noty to be able to kill teh mosquitoes outright, but to damage their wings so they couldn't fly. _Much_ less power needed.

Still an issue, though, but not so bad

Re: Predict 3D position of flying bugs and pest to shoot down them with a laser

#17
Ah yes, the "star wars laser defense mosquito system". It' as impractical then (early 00's origin) as it is now https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGkPMZxWPpA&t=2s (it's Dutch but you get it).

Unless you can get mm accuracy and perfect non-foe detection it's useless with the multi-watt lasers generally required.

Re: Predict 3D position of flying bugs and pest to shoot down them with a laser

#18
post #6

It says the prediction is accurate to 1.4cm, but it doesn’t say at what range. 1.4cm at 1km is great, but 1.4cm at 1m likely isn’t usable. I’m also curious what the failsafes are like for this - how will they prevent laser spillover or misfires from hitting eyes? Even if this is a 1 in a million chance, it likely isn’t worth it except in highly remote areas.

In a flat area, you could imagine designing a system so that it couldn't aim below horizon, and then mount it 10-15 feet up to mitigate the risk of blinding.

Re: Predict 3D position of flying bugs and pest to shoot down them with a laser

#19

This sounds very similar to that old idea for protecting African families from female Aedes Aegypti mosquitoes[0]. I think the idea never took off, and I’m still not sure why. [0]: https://youtu.be/hqKafI7Amd8

Everytime this idea comes up, I can’t imagine a laser powerful enough to kill even small insects not running the risk of collateral damage, burning things around it.

Maybe if several low power lasers were fired together, to converge at the predicted position, it would moderate the risk of collateral damage. Even a few millimeters away from the target position, the radiative flux (W/m²) would be much lower, likely at safe levels.

Re: Predict 3D position of flying bugs and pest to shoot down them with a laser

#20
post #6

It says the prediction is accurate to 1.4cm, but it doesn’t say at what range. 1.4cm at 1km is great, but 1.4cm at 1m likely isn’t usable. I’m also curious what the failsafes are like for this - how will they prevent laser spillover or misfires from hitting eyes? Even if this is a 1 in a million chance, it likely isn’t worth it except in highly remote areas.

In a flat area, you could imagine designing a system so that it couldn't aim below horizon, and then mount it 10-15 feet up to mitigate the risk of blinding.

That sounds like a big risk to aircraft.
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