US starts test with laser that only kills ‘bad’ insects

The US Department of Agriculture has begun testing the Photonic Fence, a device from the Intellectual Ventures company that can recognize insects and then destroy them with lasers. The technique must be more accurate than pesticides.

The ‘fence’ consists of a device that projects a wall of near infrared light. When insects fly through them, they are analyzed with cameras and sensors. They are recognized by their shape, speed, acceleration and the frequency at which the insects move their wings.

The system can be equipped with a kill list that lists the insects that need to be destroyed. This switching off is done with a laser that aims at the wings of insects. With little energy, an insect can be switched off in 25 milliseconds. According to Intellectual Ventures, the Photonic Fence can destroy up to 20 insects per second in an area 30 meters wide and 3 meters high. The company states that 99 percent of the recognized insects are destroyed by the system.

The device has been in development since 2010, but according to Wired it has now actually been put into use in a field test for the first time. The Photonic Fence is used by the United States Department of Agriculture against the Asian Diaphorina citri, a psyllium that damages citrus fruits. That insect has reduced Florida citrus production by 70 percent in the past 15 years. If the test proves successful, the Photonic Fence should be marketed as a commercial product for farmers and growers.

According to the makers, the Photonic Fence can also be used to monitor the presence of insects and catalog them, without killing them. This could be done, for example, to determine which insect killers are effective in a particular area.