Bug-killing laser zaps pests

When Intellectual Ventures co-founder and former Microsoft chief technology officer Nathan Myhrvold came up with the idea of a bug-killing fence in 2010, the intention was to use it to improve public health in Sub-Saharan Africa. Now, however, the Photonic Fence has become a commercial project with a particular target: the Asian citrus psyllid. This insect invader has reduced citrus production in Florida by at least 70 per cent over the last 15 years. The device has been installed on a US Department of Agriculture site in the state for its first real-world test. If all goes to plan, Intellectual Ventures aims to market the Photonic Fence to farmers protecting crops from a multitude of other pests.

Cameras and optics on the Photonic Fence detect potential pests within a 100-metre range. It then assesses the insect's form, velocity, acceleration and wing-beat frequency. "Once it validates a target as a bad bug, we deploy the lethal laser. Within 25 milliseconds you have a little insect carcass on the ground," Arty Makagon, technical lead for the project, says. "Each wall segment is designed to interrogate and, if the target is on the kill list, it will provide a lethal dose to up to 20 insects per second." The company claims the machine, which has a kill zone of 30 metres wide and three metres high, destroys 99 per cent of the insects it identifies.

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