Status: Real
The Sunday Mirror
ran an article about a device, called the Mosquito, that promises to allow shopkeepers to get rid of the crowds of surly youths who like to congregate outside their shops. The article states:
The machine, which is hidden within the lights of corner shops, uses ear-splitting ultrasonic soundwaves. It is being hailed as the answer to clear away underage drinkers and vandals from the doorways of late-opening stores. The 9in-high device - called the Mosquito - has a range of 20 to 30 metres and emits a piercing sound only clearly audible to under-20s. The sound is said to be "extremely unpleasant", but not harmful.
The website of
Compound Security Systems, maker of the Mosquito, further explains:
Mosquito is essentially a sounder unit that emits a very high (ultra-sonic) tone that is completely harmless even with long term use... Research has shown that the majority of people over the age of 25, have lost the ability to hear at this frequency range... The longer someone is exposed to the sound, the more annoying it becomes. Field trials have shown that teenagers are acutely aware of the Mosquito and usually move away from the area within just a couple of minutes. The field trails also suggest that after several uses, the groups of children / teenagers tend not to loiter in the areas covered by the Mosquito, even when it is not turned on.
I'm not sure about the science here, but it does seem plausible to me that younger people would be able to hear high-pitched sounds more easily than older people. If this does work, I would definitely consider installing it to annoy my college-age neighbors who enjoy playing basketball in their backyard at midnight. (Thanks to Eric for the link.)
Comments
If that doesn't work, bagpipes are guaranteed to get the job done.
I think I have an idea of the kind of sound they are talking about, old TVs and monitors with the power on, but muted, will vibrate in their frames producing a really annoying high pitched hum, which is compounded by the fact that most people (even in the below 25 range) tend not to hear it.
this anti-loitering machene would have the potential to make me violent, and I like classical music. good thing I'm 21 now, and it won't be pointed at me.
If that doesn't work, bagpipes are guaranteed to get the job done.
OR you could even try country music.
I don't guess that would be inaudible to over-25s, though (at least not to me).
http://www.gamedev.net/community/forums/topic.asp?topic_id=267312
http://occmed.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/51/4/245
I realize those aren't definitive, but WTH. 😊
A more useful device would be something that blocks or interferes with mobile phone signals. The modern-day teenager cannot exist without strong mobile phone reception. The gang would be unwilling to lurk near a shop where their mobile phones do not work.
I would patent this idea myself, but I'm sure it has been thought of before. Active jamming devices are illegal in several countries, perhaps because they might cause aeroplanes to crash, and so some clever people at Iwate University in Morioka, Japan, have developed a kind of magnetic wood (!) which passively blocks the signals:
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn2461
It seems to be some kind of layered composite wood material that resembles modern-day tank armour. I wonder why they decided to start with wood as their base material, rather than - say - brick, or metal?
I want to line my office and my classroom with it.
And yes as you get older you loose hearing. Including high sounds. I can hear all sorts of things my Dad cant.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5359306/site/newsweek/
Thanks.
It is too early to predict the device's future. Since an article about it appeared in The Grocer, a British trade magazine, Mr. Stapleton has become modestly famous, answering inquiries from hundreds of people and filling orders for dozens of the devices, not only in stores but also in places like railroad yards. He appeared recently on Richard & Judy, an Oprah-esque afternoon talk show, where the device successfully vexed all but one of the members of a girls' choir.
He is considering introducing a much louder unit that can be switched on in emergencies with a panic button. It would be most useful when youths swarm into stores and begin stealing en masse, a phenomenon known in Britain as steaming. The idea would be to blast them with such an unacceptably loud, high noise - a noise inaudible to older shoppers - that they would immediately leave.
"It's very difficult to shoplift," Mr. Stapleton said, "when you have your fingers in your ears."
http://www.teenrepel.co.uk
TeenRepel is actually better finished, more attractive and more technically accomplished than the overpriced mosquito.
The TR-01 looks like a more manageable price for domestic users.
My job as an Anti Social Behaviour Reduction Officer sees me looking on a daily basis at anything that can
I feel these devices at just about every department store I go in and I now don
http://www.mosquitogroup.com/index.html
One question though... does it cause distress to dogs? There were a couple of dogs tied up outside the shop today, and I thought: surely they must be hearing that, if I am??