Engineers Build 40-Gram Micro-Drone to Target and Eradicate Mosquitoes

Engineers at startup Tornyol have developed a 40-gram autonomous micro-drone designed to hunt mosquitoes. During a recent test, the drone successfully achieved its first "air-to-air kill" by tracking and ramming a flying moth in a controlled testing area. Founded by Alex Toussaint and Clovis Piedallu, Tornyol aims to scale this technology to help eradicate deadly vector-borne diseases.

The prototype combines smartphone-grade microphones with ultrasonic sensors to detect target insects. While the initial test relied on an external motion-capture system and off-board computer processing, the final version will be fully self-contained. It will emit ultrasonic pulses and analyze the Doppler signature of wingbeats to identify specific mosquito species and sex.

If proven effective in real-world deployments, the company believes just 10 of these miniature drones could clear a one-square-kilometer area of disease-carrying insects.