TECH

Japanese technology proposes to destroy pests with laser

According to Japanese authorities, up to 16% of the raw materials for manufacturing food under modern conditions are lost due to exposure to pest insects. At the same time, by mid-century, demand for food will grow by 70% due to population growth, and global warming will only create more favorable conditions for pests to reproduce. Experts suggest using artificial intelligence-controlled laser weapons to fight them.

So far, Japanese developers at the NARO research association don't even have a prototype laser installation to combat harmful insects, but they hope to conduct field tests next year. The principle of insect control is quite simple: a stereoscopic camera will detect them, and an artificial intelligence system will predict the flight path of the pests and shoot them down with a laser pulse, firing with a slight lead. The fact is that in 0.03 seconds, necessary for the aiming system, the moth can fly from six to nine centimeters, so the shot must be performed with automatic adjustment so that the laser pulses are guaranteed to hit the target.

As experimental insects, Japanese experts intend to use adults of the Asian cotton worm or corn worm, which are capable of causing significant damage to the production of popular crops in Asia, Africa, the Middle East and India. The moth has linear dimensions on the order of 2-3 cm, which makes it a suitable target for experimental laser installations. By the developers' calculations, a laser installation is capable of destroying up to 300 insects per minute. In the future, this pest control can be mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles and sent to work in the fields.

It is important that this method eliminates the use of harmful chemicals for insect control. These chemicals lose their effectiveness over time, but require a significant investment of time and money to develop. Also, they are not safe for the environment.

Image source: NARO, Nikkei Asian Review