Page 34 - BBC Knowledge - October 2017 IN

Science
Innovations

ENVI R O N M ENT

NEVER MIND THE

PESTICIDES, HERE’S

A BUG-ZAPPING FENCE!

Farmers under pressure to reduce chemical By deploying several such devices,
pesticides can take heart from the news that farmers could effectively create a virtual
the US Department of Agriculture is about to fence around their crops that kills harmful
start trialling a device that can kill insects pests but leaves bees and other beneficial
with a laser. or harmless insects unharmed.
Developed by Seattle company Intellectual As well as protecting crops, it’s hoped
Ventures Lab (IVL), the ‘Photonic Fence’ the Photonic Fence could also prove useful A VIA TI O N
isn’t really a fence at all, but a small box in the fight against malaria, by eliminating
containing lasers, cameras and an AI only the Anopheles mosquitoes that spread HELICOPTERS:
computer system. The cameras scan the air the disease without upsetting the balance
around the device for 100 metres, and of the local ecosystem in the way that NOW WITH
the AI system measures the shape, speed, blanket use of chemical pesticides would. WINGS!
acceleration and wingbeat frequency of The US trials began in August. If the device
any bugs detected, to establish which are is proven to work, then IVL hopes to bring At the recent Paris Air Show,
potentially harmful. Any insects identified a commercial product to market, though Airbus was showing off its
as a threat can be zapped by the lasers, with that will still be some years away. new Racer concept helicopter,
a ‘kill rate’ of up to 20 insects per second. which has both a main rotor
and a pair of propeller-
sporting wings.
Racer (an acronym for ‘RApid
and Cost-Effective Rotorcraft’)
would take off and land
vertically, just like a normal
helicopter, but would boast
a top speed of 400km/h
(250mph), which is nippier
“Destroy all
mosquitoes!” than traditional choppers.
If you’re getting a sense of déjà
vu here, that’s because the
Racer is essentially an updated
take on the X3 concept that
Eurocopter (now Airbus) took
to the Paris Air Show in 2011.
The craft is designed for
the operation of high-speed
passenger services,
particularly between urban
centres (such as London and
Berlin) where its vertical take-
off and landing capabilities
eliminate the need to travel
to and from airports. But it
could also find a role in military
or search-and-rescue
operations. Airbus hopes
to have a commercial craft PHOTOS: IVL, HYPERLOOP
based on the Racer concept
available by 2020.
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OCTOBER 2017