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Bzigo tracks and highlights wily mosquitoes

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The Bzigo prototype locks onto a mosquito – the final version should be smaller and sleeker
Bzigo
If connected to the home's Wi-Fi network, Bzigo sends smartphone alerts
Bzigo
The planned commercial version of Bzigo
Bzigo
The Bzigo prototype locks onto a mosquito – the final version should be smaller and sleeker
Bzigo
Bzigo founders Nadav Benedek (left) and Saar Wilf, with the present version of their device
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It's definitely annoying when you're trying to swat a mosquito that's flying around a room, but you lose track of where it is. Bzigo is designed to help, as it optically-tracks mozzies and then highlights them with an eye-safe laser.

Developed by an Israeli startup of the same name, Bzigo incorporates an infrared LED, an HD wide-angle infrared camera, and a microprocessor. Utilizing computer vision algorithms running on the latter, it's reportedly able to differentiate between mosquitos and other pixel-sized airborne objects (such as dust particles) based on their movement patterns. It even works in the dark.

Once Bzigo detects that a mosquito is in the room, it notifies the user via an app on their smartphone. To help them see where the insect is, the device laser-projects a box around it, whenever it stops moving. It's then up to the user to do the actually swatting, although a future version of the product may be able to "autonomously eliminate" mosquitoes after they've been detected.

Bzigo founders Nadav Benedek (left) and Saar Wilf, with the present version of their device

The current prototype, which was unveiled this week at CES in Las Vegas, is reportedly capable of sighting mosquitoes up to a distance of 8 meters (26 feet). It's intended for indoor use only.

Should you be interested in getting one, you can reserve a unit by placing a US$9 deposit via the first link below. Doing so will get backers a $30 discount on the planned $169 retail price. The company is currently in talks with investors, with hopes of having Bzigo on the market sometime early next year.

Source: Bzigo via IEEE Spectrum

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14 comments
paul314
uh-huh.

It might be good for autonomously playing with jumping cats.
Alex Angel
Years ago Intellectual Ventures put out a TED talk with a proof of concept of this idea with a built-in laser that would melt the wings of female mosquitos in mid-air to render them flightless. I remember being very disappointed when I discovered they just wanted to patent & license out the idea rather than develop it themselves. Happy to see SOMEONE finally is developing this!
guzmanchinky
Oh man that sounds fun. Now they need some kind of gun so I can shoot the little buggers!
Trylon
@paul314, read the article before trying to be snarky. "To help them see where the insect is, the device laser-projects a box around it, whenever it stops moving." A laser that's not moving won't attract a cat's attention.
ChairmanLMAO
or you could take the power filters out and fry those wily bastages on the fly!!
f8lee
The name sounds suspiciously like"bazinga!" - the term that jokester Sheldon Cooper (on Big Bang Theory) likes to use...
alexD
well... i'm not too paranoid.. yet.... wife though, would love this.... i'd hate the price though....
windykites
Obviously designed by a couple of swats! (lol) I would call the device Viva ZAPata. It is a very expensive way to indicate mozzies. How about a laser pistol? Some blue lasers are powerful enough.
martinwinlow
Please let me know when the 'detect and destroy' version is in the shops, especially if it can deal with flies, too.
juan morales
Fantastic device.
Waiting for the cockroach version!