Robot Laser Programmed to Zap Cockroaches Over a Meter Away: The Ultimate Pest Control?

Urian B., Tech Times 04 October 2022, 03:10 am

Researchers have found a way to get rid of cockroaches over a meter away with the help of a robot. The robot was programmed to shoot laser beams to zap cockroaches up to 1.2 meters in the distance.

Researchers Create a Robot that can Zap Cockroaches 1.2 Meters Away

Getting rid of cockroaches is always a challenging task for a lot of people. One of the most popular ways to get rid of them is to use chemical pesticides, but this solution isn't always that effective and can also be harmful to a person's health.

With that, researchers have been able to find another way to get rid of cockroaches in the coolest way possible. The solution involved programming a robot to shoot lasers in order to zap the cockroaches 1.2 meters away.

The Project was Officially Published on Oriental Insects

According to the story by Hackaday, they were able to come across a cool project that involved using AI-controlled lasers in order to neutralize moving cockroaches. The project was done by Ildar Rakhmatulin of the Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh.

The whole project was also published on Oriental Insects showing a project that involved a Jetson Nano as the heart of the pest controller. In order to detect the cockroaches, OpenCV, as well as Yolo object detection, were used.

What the 1.6W Laser Turned Out to be

In order to steer the laser beam, galvanometers were also equipped on the robot. There were three different lasers that the testing used which allowed them to evaluate wavelengths, spot sizes, and even power levels and their ranges.

The 1.6W laser turned out to be reportedly more efficient and quicker tha initially expected. For other hacksmiths out there that are interested in the project, it was uploaded to GitHub and is available for those that want to try it out.

Cockroaches are Capable of Traveling 3mph

There were also machine learning image sets available to help the computer better identify cockroaches. Needless to say, Ildar pointed out within the report that the project is dangerous and should only be done cautiously by professionals.

An interesting fact about cockroaches is that they are actually hard to catch because of their speed. In fact, the article by Hackaday notes that these insects are capable of traveling 4.8kmph or about almost 3mph.

Early Video Showed What the Project was Like With Only 1000 Images for Training

While the speeds might sound really slow, given the short distances that they travel, catching a cockroaches can be difficult for some people without fast reflexes since they can easily pivot in terms of direction.

A video of the project was uploaded to YouTube showing the cockroach detection and control through the use of a laser. The video was taken in May 20, 2021 with only 1,000 images for training which means that it could be safe to say that over time, the laser has learned more about the cockroaches through machine learning.