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Innovative drone use for mosquito

Innovative System for Mosquito Population Control

World Mosquito Program

Advanced Drone-Based Solution for Efficient Dispersal

  • Researchers form the World Mosquito Program and WeRobotics, alongside an international team of infectious disease specialists, have devised an advanced system to efficiently disperse mosquitoes infected with bacteria that target and kill mosquitoes.

Container Design and Functionality

  • In their paper published in Science Robotics, the team outlines the design and functionality of a container engineered to hold, transport and gradually release mosquitoes over an extensive area.

Focus on Effective Aerial Release Devices

  • In the same journal issue, Jacob Crawford of Verily Life Sciences LLC has published a Focus piece detailing the essential requirements for effective aerial release devices and highlighting the advantages of automation.

Addressing Mosquito-Borne Diseases

  • Mosquitoes are vectors for various viruses, including those responsible for dengue fever. Researchers and health officials are actively seeking methods to decrease mosquito populations in regions susceptible to these infections. One strategy involves identifying bacteria that can infect and incapacitate or eradicate disease-carrying mosquitoes and then determining methods to introduce these bacteria to the mosquito populations.

Traditional vs New Methods

  • The conventional method involves breeding large quantities of mosquitoes, infecting them and then manually releasing them into the wild. However, this method has proven to be inefficient, cumbersome, and occasionally hazardous. In this new study, the research team has developed a drone-based solution to streamline the process.

Container and Drone Specifications

  • The team's work included designing a container capable of holding multiple small batches of infected mosquitoes, releasing them at set intervals, while remaining compact and lightweight enough for drone transport.
  • The outcome was a compact white box designed to hold 160,000 mosquitoes, divided into multiple compartments with an on-demand release mechanism for each compartment.
  • The drone can fly to designated locations, release approximately 150 infected mosquitoes, and then proceed to the next location, continuing this cycle until all mosquitoes are released. The box also features climate control and a system for sedating the mosquitoes until their release.

Field Trials and Results

  • During field trials in Fiji, the team discovered that the system achieved better uniform distribution than manual release. In another field test, drone deployment of infected mosquitoes effectively spread the disease and significantly reduced mosquito numbers.

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