[HN Gopher] Predict 3D position of flying bugs and pest to shoot...
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       Predict 3D position of flying bugs and pest to shoot down them with
       a laser
        
       Author : giuliomagnifico
       Score  : 38 points
       Date   : 2021-12-31 20:51 UTC (2 hours ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (www.naro.go.jp)
 (TXT) w3m dump (www.naro.go.jp)
        
       | jjcm wrote:
       | 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.
        
         | carbocation wrote:
         | 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.
        
           | skykooler wrote:
           | That sounds like a big risk to aircraft.
        
             | TheDudeMan wrote:
             | How long of a pulse is required to disable an insect? How
             | long to be a danger to airplane pilots?
        
       | yakshaving_jgt wrote:
       | 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
        
         | the_only_law wrote:
         | 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.
        
           | niccl wrote:
           | 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
        
           | DJBunnies wrote:
           | Like my retinas.
        
           | solidsnack9000 wrote:
           | 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.
        
       | jacquesm wrote:
       | Firestarter for sure.
        
       | mattbee wrote:
       | The illustration is hilarious - appears to be a gigawatt laser
       | scoring a hit on Mothra.
        
       | consp wrote:
       | 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.
        
         | jacquesm wrote:
         | That video is absolutely hilarious, a total spoof on all those
         | tell-sell nonsense videos they would play at night on idle
         | channels of the local cable TV systems.
        
       | kurthr wrote:
       | 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.
        
         | toomuchtodo wrote:
         | Beacon lights to draw them out?
        
           | bee_rider wrote:
           | We can only take that sort of thinking so far before we
           | reinvent the bug zapper.
        
             | toomuchtodo wrote:
             | Bug zapper _at a distance_.
             | 
             | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0C5vkbtpdN4
             | 
             | https://patents.google.com/patent/US20100186284A1/en
        
               | bee_rider wrote:
               | 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)
        
           | snek_case wrote:
           | Should be possible to modulate the intensity of the laser
           | pretty easily with a modern diode-based laser (so that you
           | can avoid damaging the plant).
        
         | giuliomagnifico wrote:
         | I think this system (laser) will work from the ground (where
         | there're the crops) to the sky, before the bugs will touch the
         | leaves, not froun ground to ground level. So there will be no
         | trouble in shoot down the bugs when they're flying some meters
         | above the ground.
        
       | fareesh wrote:
       | if a spray is used the radius would be wide enough to catch i
       | suspect - as opposed to a laser
        
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       (page generated 2021-12-31 23:00 UTC)