Chinese start-up prepares shipments of laser mosquito device

Chinese start-up Photon Matrix Lab says it expects to begin shipping a device that uses lidar and lasers to detect and kill mosquitoes later this month. The company, based in Changzhou in Jiangsu province, said initial monthly production would be between 3,000 and 5,000 units. Its sales director, Lawrence Leng, said the first batch was expected to ship later this month after the product attracted more than 5,000 orders, mainly from Europe and North America.

The device is available with either an infrared laser or a blue laser. The versions are priced at US$988 and US$1,088 respectively, and the company’s website says orders will ship within 120 days of pre-order receipt. Photon Matrix Lab says the infrared model is intended for indoor use, while the visible blue laser is better suited to gardens and outdoor settings.

According to the company, high-precision lidar scans the surroundings and identifies small, slow-moving flying objects before triggering the laser. It says the system can recognise people and large animals and shut down before they enter the strike zone. The start-up originally sought US$20,000 through Indiegogo but later raised more than US$2.8 million after the product spread on social media.

The crowdfunding success was followed by delays in mass production and concerns over safety. Founder Wang Chuan said development took three years rather than the three months initially expected. Leng said the main challenges involved detection accuracy, strike precision, energy use, cost and manufacturing.

The company expects demand to rise and production capacity to increase three- to fivefold over the next year, although the supplied material does not independently assess the device’s safety or effectiveness.