Watch: Engineers Create Tiny Drone That Hunts And Kills Mosquitoes Mid-Air

From AI assistants that write emails to robot vacuum cleaners that tidy our homes, technology is making everyday life easier in ways that once seemed straight out of science fiction. But here's a new one: what if a tiny drone could take care of mosquitoes for you? Not by spraying chemicals, but by hunting them down and eliminating them in mid-air. That futuristic idea may be closer than you think. Engineers at Tornyol say their autonomous micro-drone has achieved its first successful mid-air kill, taking down a moth during a test flight, a milestone that could pave the way for swarms of miniature drones designed to track, hunt and eliminate disease-carrying mosquitoes.

This US startup backed by Y Combinator says it is developing tiny drones that could one day be used to control mosquitoes and bring the cost of eradication down by 100 times. Tornyol, founded by engineers Alex Toussaint and Clovis Piedallu, is building 40-gram drones that use smartphone microphones, ultrasonic sensors like those in car parking systems, and custom software to track and target insects.

The company estimates that 10 of its drones could clear mosquitoes from one square kilometre. That claim has not yet been tested in the real world.

Watch the video here: 

Extremely excited to announce our first air-to-air kill of a flying moth by an autonomous micro-drone. This is a big step towards completely eradicating mosquitoes. pic.twitter.com/UhtNqwXCQI

— Alex Toussaint (@alextoussss) July 14, 2026

In a test on July 14, Toussaint posted video of a prototype drone automatically chasing and hitting a flying moth inside a testing area. He called it the startup's "first air-to-air kill" and said it was "a big step towards completely eradicating mosquitoes".

The company said the test did not use the drone's final onboard hardware. Instead, a motion-capture system tracked infrared lights on the drone and a ping-pong ball used to represent the target. The sonar data was processed on a computer, which then sent movement commands to the drone. Toussaint said the system should be moved onto embedded hardware within weeks.

The final version is designed to send out ultrasonic pulses and listen for echoes with an array of microphones. According to Tornyol, the sound made by an insect's wings creates a distinct Doppler signature. 

This could be used to tell mosquitoes apart from other insects and even identify their species and sex. The drone would then intercept the target while avoiding walls and obstacles. The startup says the aim is to use swarms of the drones to eliminate mosquitoes from whole urban areas.