Mosquitoes are masters of evasion when indoors, seemingly disappearing after you unsuccessfully try to swat them or grab them out of the air. That's where the Bzigo Iris comes in, as it tracks them and shows you where they are.
Made by Israeli startup Bzigo, the Iris first caught our attention in 2020 when it was still in prototype form. Fast-forward four years, and the device is now commercially available. Here's how it works …
Placed in a location where it can see most of a room, the Iris utilizes a wide-angle camera and computer vision software to constantly scan the space for flying mosquitoes. It's equipped with an array of infrared LEDs, so it can even scan in the dark.
Apparently the gadget's AI brains aren't easily fooled by other types of small flying insects such as moths, or by airborne dust particles.
Whenever a mosquito is detected, the Iris tracks its position until it lands. The device then marks that location with a Class-1 eye-safe red laser pointer, while also wirelessly alerting the user via an iOS/Android app on their smartphone. If more than one mosquito is detected at once, the Iris will move its pointer back and forth between all of their locations.
What's more, multiple Irises can be set up in multiple rooms, all of them paired to a single phone.
Once a mosquito alert has been issued, it's up to the user to actually dispatch the insect. A telescoping-handled electric swatter is included in the package for that very purpose. And yes, it would be better if the Iris did the mosquito-killing itself, although it's hard to imagine how it would do so without leaving laser scorch marks or tiny bullet holes on the walls.
Should you want a Bzigo Iris of your own, you can order one from the company website for US$339. It's demonstrated in the following video.
Source: Bzigo
The original version did kill the mozzies with lasers; looks like they backed-down on that level of awesomeness, probably for killjoy fun-police safety reasons?