A/C's ultrasonic waves shoo away mosquitoes

1 hr.

John Roach , NBC News

Even in the cold darkness of winter, a hot muggy mosquito infested day sounds miserable. Thankfully, there?s now an air conditioner that doubles as a mosquito repellent. The repellent comes in the form of ultrasonic waves, which make a sound that drives away the pesky insects.

The high-tech gizmo from LG Electronics sounds like a must-get for the wealthy Florida retiree on your holiday shopping list, but it?s intended as a potential game-changer for parts of Africa where malaria, a mosquito-transmitted disease, is a major public health threat.

In tests, the unit deterred 64 percent of malaria-transmitting mosquitoes within 24 hours and 82 percent overall.

The company even took Africa?s notoriously unreliable power supplies into consideration as it designed the Anti-Mosquito air conditioner. It is outfitted with technology meant to withstand the electric current fluctuations associated with repeated blackouts and extreme operating conditions.

Yes, air conditioners are a relative luxury, but with research on anti-malaria vaccines stumbling and low-cost mosquito nets becoming less effective, an air conditioning unit that shoos away a good portion of the deadly mosquitoes today is that much cooler.

??via Gizmodo?

John Roach is a contributing writer for NBC News Digital. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/cs-ultrasonic-waves-shoo-away-mosquitoes-1C7208009

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