Mosquito Catcher

Tech giant Microsoft is developing autonomous drones that can trap mosquitoes and predict outbreak of deadly viruses. The drones developed under ‘Project Premonition’ will predict outbreak of infectious disease such as dengue and avian flu.

The team led by Ethan Jackson has developed a new mosquito trap that uses bait to lure mosquitoes. The trap uses less energy, relies on light weight batteries and can sort mosquitoes from other bugs. It also has chemicals that preserve the insect for lab studies.

The drones will be capable of flying the mosquito traps in and out of remote areas in a semi-autonomous way. What makes it more interesting is that there will be no ground controller to control the drones. The team is working closely with US Federal Aviation Administration to get regulatory clearance. After the development of the drone, the next challenge will be to analyse the mosquitoes for viruses.