Autonomous mosquito control

Abstract

The present invention provides a system for the automated management of a water-breeding insect population, the system comprising: at least one ovitrap comprising a container arranged to hold a liquidand collect the eggs of a water-breeding insect; one or more autonomous vehicles; and an ovitrap manager configured to communicate with the one or more autonomous vehicles to instruct an autonomous vehicle to perform one or more tasks to administer maintenance of one or more ovitrap s. The maintenance of the ovitraps is carried out by autonomous vehicles, thereby reducing or eliminating human involvement. Furthermore, the ovitraps themselves may be cheap and replaceable such that a large number may be deployed to cope with increasing insect populations. They also may be spread across a wide area since the autonomous vehicles travel to the ovitraps such that there is no burden placed on human operators in travelling to maintain the traps.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a management system and method for aquatic insects such as mosquitoes. Background technique [0002] Every year, about 1.5 million people lose their lives due to mosquito bites. The World Health Organization regards mosquito control as a key factor in the prevention of mosquito-borne diseases. All methods using chemical agents are losing their effectiveness more and more. This is evidenced by the rise in mosquito-related deaths worldwide. [0003] One known method of controlling mosquito and other aquatic insect populations is the use of ovitraps. An ovirap is a device in which aquatic insects lay their eggs. An oviduct typically includes a container of water and optionally a substrate on which insects can lay their eggs. Ovitraps are used to lure aquatic insects such as mosquitoes to lay eggs on them. According to the difference of insects, the ovipositing position can be the wall surface near the water surface i...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0005] However, the problem remains that the density of swarms within an area may fluctuate, with certain areas having more worms at certain times, but other areas having more worms at other times

Therefore, it is difficult to constantly monitor changes in the population and place and maintain an appropriate number of ovitraps in suitable locations

Permanent automated egg traps are expensive and difficult to move and rearrange on the fly, thus lacking the flexibility needed to address these issues

However, temporary ovitraps need to be managed on an ongoing basis, so the labor involved in the constant movement and re-feeding required by such oviraps is too high to be practical

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