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INNOVATION RESOURCES

Mosquito Anti-Loitering System

Breakthrough:
A hi-tech ultrasonic method to stop gangs of teens congregating.

Inventor:
Howard Stapleton, United Kingdom

Financial reward:
$6 million+

The Story:
Mosquito Anti-Loitering System

Although not aware of it at the time, inventor Howard Stapleton from Wales came across the idea that was to form the basis of his innovation when he was twelve years old and visiting a factory with his father.

Inside workers were using ultrasonic welding equipment and he couldn’t bear to be in the same room. The noise was so loud, but only the young Stapleton was hearing it.

His ears were picking up a high-pitched noise that adults are unable to detect, and in later years he took that sound scientific notion to create a machine called Mosquito that emits a high frequency pulsing sound to deter youths from congregating and causing trouble.

It can be heard by most people under 20 and no one over 30 and has been installed outside numerous supermarkets, shops and town squares to deter youngsters from congregating and causing trouble.

Loitering Problems

As a security consultant Stapleton is familiar with a variety of alarm systems and was well aware of loitering problems. The idea for Mosquito came to him when his daughter returned home empty-handed after a shopping errand. She did not want to walk through a gang of boys who were hanging around a store entrance.

He put his brain into gear to figure out ways of deterring youths from assembling and carried out extensive research. This included speaking to store keepers who used classical music as a deterrent, although this approach never worked. As he was playing around with a few ideas he remembered the factory trips of his youth and began to assemble a prototype out of off-the-shelf components.

Testing the Device

He asked his children to help and tested different frequencies on them, before arriving at the right one. The aim of the device is not to cause any pain, merely to annoy. As the inventor says, “It’s very difficult to shoplift when you have your fingers in your ears.”

The innovation works because of a condition called presbycusis, which is age-related hearing loss and it occurs in most people. The ability to hear the sorts of high-pitched noises that the Mosquito emits deteriorates as we get older.

The first device was road tested outside a convenience store in Wales in 2005. The owner had been having problems with a large number of malicious youths outside his shopfront.

Mosquito was installed and was an instant success receiving international media attention. According to the New York Times it was as if someone had used some kind of “anti-teenager spray”. The kids that used to congregate there and intimidate customers were gone.

Mosquito then went into full scale production and within the first year Stapleton had signed a multimillion dollar deal with an American company to take over all the marketing.

Initially Stapleton’s company, Compound Security Systems controlled production, manufacturing 120 units a week, but demand was so great that it signed a deal with another Welsh company to produce them instead.

Buzz Off

Stapleton’s device produces a very high frequency modulated tone that becomes annoying to teenagers within five to twenty minutes. The current settings of the latest models are 7 KHz to disperse groups of teenagers or 8 KHz to disperse people of any age where loitering is a problem. Mosquito is completely harmless and has been tested by numerous safety bodies to ensure that it complies with health and safety legislation.

Public Opposition

One problem that Stapleton has faced has been very public and vocal criticism by individuals and children’s organizations who don't think it is a fair way to tackle anti-social behavior. They claim that it breaches the human rights of children. The controversy even made it as far as the House of Commons where in February 2010 the British Home Secretary Alan Johnson defended its use saying, “I do think there is evidence that shows that actually these kind of devices can be very helpful ... where people feel a congregation of rowdy young people is actually adversely affecting their quality of lives.”

Overwhelming Success

Mosquito has been a phenomenal success and more than 9,000 units have been sold to police forces, schools, shops, banks and clubs. It is also available in numerous countries including Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, Canada, the UK and the USA. Sales have been so buoyant that Stapleton has come up with a sequel – the Mini-Mosquito anti loitering machine which is being snapped up for use in homes and small business premises.

[NEXT STORY]Article by: Paul Arnold

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