Photonic Fence: A Light-Based Alternative to Pest Control
Disease-bearing insects have long been hazards to both human and environmental health. Mosquitoes, dubbed the “the world’s deadliest animal,” can transmit malaria—which, according to the World Health Organization, killed an estimated 438,000 people in 2015 alone, 90% of which occurred in the African region. Bed nets, insecticides, and antimalarial drugs have helped keep the disease in check in many parts of the world, but more, higher-tech tools are needed to limit contact between humans and mosquitoes.
To answer this challenge, Intellectual Ventures invented a tool that uses an unusual weapon to combat vector-borne diseases: light. Called a photonic fence, the invention works by combining low-cost sensor and laser technology with software to identify, track, and kill mosquitoes, thus eliminating malaria’s primary transmission vector.
One Tool, Multiple Uses
Now, our photonic fence technology has its lasers set on being a tool for not only global health organizations, but also for the agriculture industry. Global Good –a collaborative effort between Bill Gates and Intellectual Ventures to address some of humanity’s toughest problems through the power of invention – continues to develop light-based alternatives that offer an environmentally-responsible alternative to chemical pesticides as well as field-ready photonic fence prototypes to test new, efficient, and effective pest control products for health, commercial, and residential use around the world.
Breakthroughs like these power our belief that invention is the driver of all progress. Learn more about the Photonic Fence here. Intellectual Ventures. A global inventions company.