Slashdot Mirror
Wireless Sensor Networks for Killing Mosquitoes
aaditeshwar writes "It looks like sensor networks have some applications afterall, other than the usual stuff for defense and US military! AmBio has created a wireless mesh network of bugspraying "magnets" that report back data on the temperature, air conditions, and wind directions, and a central controller uses this data to turn ON or OFF the magnets in different areas. They plan to cover entire cities with such wireless meshes, and create an anti-mosquito shield around the city!"
This is a great application, and one which probably has the largest benefits for the 3rd World and developing world. As with drugs however the issue is going to be the cost to those countries of deploying it (and having the reliable power network to support it).
How long before its cheap enough to not just be about making people in Florida feel more comfortable living in a swamp?
An Eye for an Eye will make the whole world blind - Gandhi
However... they tout this as being great for third-world countries where malaria is prevalent. I'm sure this is the angle they'll use to get major media, since people ultimately aren't that drawn to devices that make live even easier for the country-club set.
According to the article, you need both a 20-pound tank of propane and access to a nearby power outlet to make the machine work, not to mention wifi for the fancier parts of it. Seems like this could be a bit of a stretch in places like Central America and Africa where they're lucky to have running water and decent sanitation facilities. Maybe a better version of device could use the propane to power the unit, so that you don't need that power cord?
Or else, I suppose they could just use the equivalent of the "Mexican National Extension Cord" to run the things.
--
Free 411! 1-800-411-SAVE
Free Conference Call -- No Spam, High Quality
Dear Mr. Crackpot AC,
Please have a look at some encyclopedia and get a clue. Mosquitos are typically nectar feeders, with only the females sucking out your blood. And they infamous for transmitting illnesses such as Malaria in some countries.
Regards,
[unreadable signature]
A monkey is doing the real work for me.
Mosquito sized and even dust particle sized robots have been under development for a number of years now. If natural mosquitoes can bite you and unintentionally spread diseases, think about what robotic mosquitoes can do in the hands of the wrong person.
Please correct me if I got my facts wrong.
So do fish. When I installed a pond in my front garden the mozzie population exploded overnight. The Mosquito lavae were breeding in the pond.
So I put fish in the pond. The fish got bigger and the mozzies almost disapeared.
http://michaelsmith.id.au
at the moment, the best defence against malaria in [south] africa seems to be revisiting DDT.
k e l l a r
I think that'd be ok. The amount of urban/developed land, compared to the total land mass of the planet, is pretty damn small. Even if we kicked those bugs out of all the cities, there'd still be plenty of other space for the mosquitos and dependent species to survive.
If this crap works, I vote that New Orleans install some as soon as possible. The mosquitos have always been sort of bad here, and they got a whole lot worse after the hurricanes. All around the city and its suburbs, trucks drive through the streets spraying chemicals into the air to help control the bugs. I can't imagine that that is particularly healthy for anyone, so an alternative would be nice.
One time I threw a brick at a duck.
The city of Winnipeg, Manitoba goes to great lengths to kill mosquitoes. They employ insecticide foggers that are quite controversial. Why do they do all this? The consequences of the poisons are seen as less of a risk than the consequences of West Nile virus.
http://www.gov.mb.ca/health/wnv/
Up here in mosquito infested Minnesota, we will try just about anything to reduce the hordes of the buzzy little buggers that make our life miserable. In untreated areas of the state it is not too uncommon for people to stay inside on nice summer evenings because the mosquitos are horrible. Because I love the outdoors and cherrish my time out of the city, I'd try and do just about anything to deal with the buggers. I fog, I spray, I light those citronella candles and burn those coils, I apply repellent and I'll still get chased inside about twilight!
.10 x.10 =.01 or more simply, about one percent of the time!)
This is because Minnesota is the land of 10,000 lakes AND 100,000 swamps, we get enough rain so low spots become puddles. We are prime mosquito breeding territory! What makes life so wonderful for us here is also perfect for mosquitos.
Those propane burning things work but only in small areas and only in still weather when their exhaust can placidly spread out far enough to attract mosquitos. A gentle breeze will render the machine utterly ineffective. How often is the air still in a summer environment when mosquitos are most active? As the heat of the day disipates, gentle breezes almost always kick in, sometimes becoming not so gentle breezes. I'd put my money on these machines being truly effective perhaps ten percent of the time when you really, really need them (which is only about 10% of the day so,
In the daylight, or after dark the mosquitos are pretty dispersed. It is only in the evening hours that they get really bad. These mosquito magnets have been around for a few years, they are expensive and they burn propane which isn't cheap! Now this company wants to build a network of them? Perhaps a network large enough to cover a community? Wouldn't it be cheaper, more effective, and more environmentally friendly to issue everyone bottles of repellent? I like the stuff in the yellow and green can from 3M but 100% DEET works pretty well too.
In my opinion, this concept of a computer controlled, propane powered mosquitio magnet net is the dream-child of some marketing exec. It is false science of the worst kind, sold as being believable and effective. It is snake-oil being sold by modern day snake oil salesmen!
All you can do is laugh. P.T. Barnum was right, there is a sucker born every minute.