AI-controlled robotic laser can target and kill cockroaches

A laser controlled by two cameras and a microcomputer powered by an AI model can be trained to target specific types of insects

by Matthew sparks

Researchers have created a device that uses machine vision to detect cockroaches and stun them with a laser. They say this method could provide a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to pesticides.

Eldar Rachmotulin At Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh, UK, he and his colleagues outfitted a two-camera laser and a microcomputer that worked with an artificial intelligence model that could be trained to target specific types of insects.

Rachmotulin says the team chose to conduct experiments with crickets because their resilience is a rigorous test: “If you…