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This story is part of our continuing coverage of CES 2020, including tech and gadgets from the showroom floor.
Few things are more frustrating than lying in a dark room, drifting off to the land of nod, when you’re suddenly jolted awake by the high-pitched whine of a mosquito, floating through the blackness with designs on your tasty, tasty blood. Such moments can quickly transform even the most measured of people into crazed wall-smacking loons as they try and squash the cursed bug before it can bite.
CES has some good news, then, in the form of Bzigo: a laser detection system that uses a combination of infrared (IR) camera, laser designator, and smart computer vision algorithms to clue you in on the location of the pesky mosquito is as it buzzes around your room.
Sadly, it won’t blow it out of the sky with said laser like a miniature Death Star obliterating a particularly bloodthirsty Alderaan. Instead, once Bzigo has spotted its target (from up to 8 meters/26 feet away) an eye-safe laser highlights the mosquito when it lands. It will even send a notification via Wi-Fi to the user’s phone on the off-chance that they’re not already aware of the tiny floaty vampire hiding in the darkness. It’s then up to you to go and remove it from your domicile in a peaceful, life-preserving way — or by turning it into a tiny smear on your wall; hopefully with just enough time before its demise for the neurons in its tiny insect brain to regret ever hassling you. (The company is, however, considering a more autonomous death-dealing system, in the form of a nano drone, for the future.)
While, for most of us, a mosquito in the night is just an annoyance, it’s worth pointing out that this is a serious problem in many parts of the world. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), mosquitoes are the worst of the disease-transmitting insects; aiding with the spread of diseases including malaria, dengue, yellow fever, and more. If technology such as this was able to be implemented in parts of the world where they mosquito-borne diseases are rife, this could prove to be a genuine life saver.
The first generation of Bzigo mosquito-spotter is expected to hit the market sometime in the next 12-14 months. It is likely to cost around $170.
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