Just use an oscillating fan.<p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/16/science/a-low-tech-mosquito-deterrent.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.nytimes.com/2013/07/16/science/a-low-tech-mosquit...</a><p>It's also worth noting that previous attempts at preventing malaria in Africa have failed not because of any technological limitation, but because they view it completely differently than we do in the West.<p>> As medical anthropologists have consistently found, because malaria is so common in much of sub-Saharan Africa, and because the overwhelming majority of cases go away on their own, most rural Africans consider malaria a minor ailment, the way that Westerners might think of the cold or flu.<p><a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/02/opinion/la-oe-shah-20100502" rel="nofollow">http://articles.latimes.com/2010/may/02/opinion/la-oe-shah-2...</a>
So the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation supported them with a grant, but not enough of a grant to do product testing?<p>Something sounds fishy to me....They seem to be all about results-based investing, and I just don't see the foundation providing funds without providing enough to "see it through" the development and testing phase.<p>Am I wrong here?
It sounds very good, but how can I invest in them, if they make such a great effort in their video to avoid explaining what it does exactly?<p>How do you hide a CO2 footprint, when that same footprint could be smelled by a from musquito 100 meters away? Why not just tell us?
From the linked article it is unclear if the chemicals are absorbed into the body or not. From the horse's mouth:<p>"Kite Patch is designed for clothing, not skin. A few news articles did get it wrong – but our technology is designed to be placed on clothing, baby carriers, backpacks, Camelbacks and other outdoor gear (for outdoor enthusiasts), etc. Kite is NOT a skin patch."<p>Source: <a href="http://www.kitepatch.com" rel="nofollow">http://www.kitepatch.com</a> about 5 pages down.<p>Manufacture's website: <a href="http://olfactorlabs.com" rel="nofollow">http://olfactorlabs.com</a>
Did anyone else pick up on all the chemophobia in this video? Is a clip of people spraying DDT supposed to scare us? Rachel Carson was wrong. DDT is safe. My favorite part is when they say "food grade FDA compounds". That's a lot of words to say chemicals.
They have an indiegogo funding page where you can select your perks [1]. I am wondering why they needed $75k in the first place, if they were funded through Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, wouldn't they just chip in the final chunk to push this into production?<p>[1] <a href="http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kite-patch" rel="nofollow">http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/kite-patch</a>
From their own FAQ:<p><i>Does Kite provide 100% protection against mosquito bites?
Kite provides a steady stream of our patent-pending spatial (airborne) compounds that block mosquitoes’ ability to track us for up to 48 hours, but it does not guarantee mosquitoes will not bite us. It is being designed to be a replacement for spray-on, fan-powered, or lotion applications, but does not take the place of bed nets at night and/or appropriate clothing in mosquito-impacted areas</i><p>So, they have put some compounds, that have been proven to repel mosquitoes in laboratory conditions, on a patch. The "minor" problem is that this patch can't possibly exude enough of those compounds to protect a human in real life conditions. I'm only refraining from calling this a scam because it seems to be a real company with scientists and all. But I won't be spending any money on this patch, that's for sure.
<a href="http://xkcd.com/1217/" rel="nofollow">http://xkcd.com/1217/</a>
I remember in 2011 reading with great interest some research into nootkatone[1] as a mosquito repellent[2] <i>(which has already been shown to be effective against ticks)</i>. It is a non-toxic oil found in grapefruit and is already approved by the FDA as a food additive.<p>Unfortunately, I haven't seen anything <i>(read: consumer-available products)</i> come of it. Upon a bit of searching, I found a patent[3] for a nootkatone-based insect repellent... filed in 1998!<p>[1]: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nootkatone" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nootkatone</a><p>[2]: <a href="http://www.npr.org/2011/04/18/135468567/repelling-bugs-with-the-essence-of-grapefruit" rel="nofollow">http://www.npr.org/2011/04/18/135468567/repelling-bugs-with-...</a><p>[3]: <a href="http://www.google.com/patents/EP1033076A1?cl=en" rel="nofollow">http://www.google.com/patents/EP1033076A1?cl=en</a>
I hope this comes to fruition, since it would be a huge boon for lots of people, assuming its cost effective. On a slightly more cynical note, I am so sick of the self aggrandizing sappy tone of these videos. I think the music is the culprit in this particular case. Maybe its necessary, but it drives me nuts.
I don't understand what covering the CO2 in our breath could do to prevent mosquitoes from biting you when they are around your arm like we can see in the video when the guy puts his arm in the experience box. Does our skin emit CO2?
Who has told people to stick investor-repellent soundtracks IN EVERY DAMN start-up-beggar campaign? That same bland optimistically beige stuff. This one didn't have the plunky piano and/or guitar bits, but it's like someone ran out and said...<p>The words aren't enough. We need sound reinforcement to lend emotion. Hmmmm... Apple used quirky, plucky, minimal for their quirky, plucky, minimal industrial design product launches... I KNOW! I want people to think I'm a quirky, plucky, minimal start-up that puts stinky color stickers on people!!!
As anyone who's ever summered in Minnesota will tell you, (and as one who's been chased out of the woods near a river one evening by a starving swarm of thousands) this is akin to finding the holy grail.