As summer begins and mosquitoes return in force, artificial intelligence is now being used in an attempt to fight them.
Inventor Steven Cheng has developed a series of prototypes that use machine learning to identify, track, and kill mosquitoes with lasers. He has been sharing the project on X, where he has posted videos of the mobile mosquito defense system.
How The System Works
Cheng said he spent four months developing what he described as an artillery cannon guided by computer vision and deep learning.
The system uses a Canon digital single-lens reflex camera with a high-magnification zoom lens and software trained to identify mosquitoes. Cheng said the research phase left him with countless bites across his body.
The laser was tuned to kill mosquitoes without harming people or household items. The software is designed to detect both humans and flammable materials, and a wide-angle lens was added to improve that detection. Power to the laser is cut if either appears in the targeting crosshairs.
Built version 3.0 of AI mosquito defense system during the holiday.
Now equipped with multi-sensor tracking, a redesigned high-speed gimbal, and a toy Gatling-style launcher for maximum mosquito elimination efficiency 🦟🔥
0.6s full rotation.
0.001° precision. pic.twitter.com/0io4G3SIxx— Steven Cheng (@stevencheng) May 28, 2026
Later Versions Add Mobility
Later versions of the system added mobility by mounting the Canon camera on wheels so it could hunt mosquitoes indoors and outdoors.
Cheng also added a Gatling gun-style design and infrared vision, allowing the system to detect insects even in the dark. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Spent 4 months building the ultimate mosquito killer: an artillery cannon guided by computer vision + deep learning.
Trained a custom model to detect and lock onto mosquitoes using a DSLR + zoom lens setup.
The dataset collection phase was brutal — the mosquitoes definitely… pic.twitter.com/jqfgz0eq9l
— Steven Cheng (@stevencheng) May 28, 2026
Other Mosquito Defenses
Not everyone will build a laser-based mosquito defense system. Many people still rely on bug spray and products such as Thermacells or hanging bug zappers.
For those who prefer a manual approach, the Bug A Salt is a salt-firing pellet gun designed to kill mosquitoes as well as house flies, hornets, carpenter bees, and other insects.
Cheng is also not the only person trying to use lasers against insects. Thebase-mountedd Photon Matrix was crowdfunded on Indiegogo last year and is expected to begin shipping this summer. The basic version is priced at about $500.
