Photon Matrix Lab plans to ship its laser mosquito killer this month
A Chinese start-up is selling a new answer to an old nuisance. The South China Morning Post reports that Photon Matrix Lab, based in Changzhou in eastern China's Jiangsu province, is now taking pre-orders on a device that uses lidar detection and lasers to zap mosquitoes out of the air. The article opens by noting that people have been trying to fend off mosquitoes for thousands of years, with methods ranging from physical barriers to chemical insecticides.
The company said it expected initial monthly production to be between 3,000 and 5,000 units. The article's subheadline puts it as up to 5,000 devices a month initially, with production capacity to be increased next year. The device, according to SCMP, became a breakout hit in overseas crowdfunding.
Lawrence Leng, the firm's sales director, said the first batch was expected to ship later this month. The article is bylined Mandy Zuo in Shanghai.
The text available for this retelling covers only the opening of the piece. It gives no price, no technical specifications such as laser power, range, safety or effectiveness, and no name for the device or the crowdfunding platform. The size of the crowdfunding campaign and the number of pre-orders are not given either.
Key facts
- Photon Matrix Lab, a start-up based in Changzhou in Jiangsu province, is taking pre-orders on a device that uses lidar detection and lasers to zap mosquitoes out of the air.
- Sales director Lawrence Leng said the first batch was expected to ship later this month.
- The company expected initial monthly production of between 3,000 and 5,000 units; the subheadline says up to 5,000 devices a month.
- Production capacity is to be increased next year, according to the article's subheadline.
- SCMP says the device became a breakout hit in overseas crowdfunding.
Why it matters
Mosquito control has long relied on barriers and chemical insecticides, as the article itself notes. This product swaps that for lidar detection and lasers aimed at individual insects. It is a consumer gadget rather than an AI or software story, but it is a hardware product moving from crowdfunding to real shipments, with a stated production plan: 3,000 to 5,000 units a month at first, then more capacity next year.
Who it affects
The immediate audience is the buyers who placed pre-orders and the crowdfunding backers who made the device a breakout hit overseas, according to SCMP. It also concerns Photon Matrix Lab itself, which now has to deliver a first batch later this month and then scale output.
How to use it
Pre-orders are open, according to the article. No price of the device is given, and neither is the name of the product or the crowdfunding platform, so there is nothing more specific to act on from the visible text. Anyone interested would need to look to the company for ordering terms.
How solid is it
The claims come from SCMP's own reporting and from Lawrence Leng, the firm's sales director, who gave the shipping expectation. The production figures are the company's expectations, not delivered output. Only the opening of the article is available, and no independent test or review of the device is part of it.
Risks and caveats
The shipping date and the production range are plans, and the first batch had not yet shipped at the time of the article. No technical specifications are given (laser power, range, safety, effectiveness), so the visible text cannot say how well the device works. No regulatory or safety concerns are mentioned in the visible text. The size of the crowdfunding campaign and the number of pre-orders are also not given, which makes the "breakout hit" description hard to measure.
“People have been trying to fend off mosquitoes for thousands of years”
— Mandy Zuo, SCMP