November 29th, 2005
A Mosquito That Scatters Unruly Teens (Only?)
By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
The ability to hear high frequency sounds deteriorates with age, and Howard Stapleton learned this first-hand when he was 12 … when he could not stand the noise in a room where high-frequency welding equipment was being used, while his father and other adults didn’t hear anything.
He’s developed a device, the Mosquito, that generates a high-frequency pulsing sound that can be heard by most people under 20 and almost no one above 30. The idea is to use the device to break up groups of unruly teenagers that hang around some stores. Stapleton is a security consultant, and while installing store alarms he noticed the seriousness of the loitering problem.
So far, the Mosquito has been road-tested in only one place, at the entrance to the Spar convenience store in this town in south Wales. Like birds perched on telephone wires, surly teenagers used to plant themselves on the railings just outside the door, smoking, drinking, shouting rude words at customers and making regular disruptive forays inside.
“On the low end of the scale, it would be intimidating for customers,” said Robert Gough, who, with his parents, owns the store. “On the high end, they’d be in the shop fighting, stealing and assaulting the staff.” Last month, Stapleton gave him a Mosquito for a free trial.
The results were almost instantaneous. Where disaffected youths used to congregate, now there is no one. Source: International Herald Tribune
We Say: Since, according to an audio expert, the ability to hear high frequency sound deteriorates gradually, it’s possible that adults over 30 would be able to hear the noise. It appears, though, that it would be much less irritating, if it’s irritating at all, as you age.
I can think of a few store owners who might love the device. Since it appears to be prolonged exposure that causes enough irritation, this might not be much of a problem for the random shopper with child in tow, or for those teenagers who really do want to shop (as opposed to hanging out). The device hasn’t yet been tested by audio experts, though. I can see the ads for testers already: “Those over 20 need not apply”.
James says:
This is supposed to be a targeted technical solution to fix a societial problem. But what if other folks who aren’t thugs can still hear outside of normal ranges? I’m 27 and I can still hear the high pitch oscillations of electrical gadgets & alarm systems. I consider my good hearing to be a gift & if I was subjected to noise designed to be painful, you better believe I would yell in the management’s ear loud enough to be painful. I’m not in the UK but I believe the phrase I would be screaming is “B0llocks”.
November 29th, 2005 at 2:57 pm
degustibus says:
Superfluous for most MTV & Ipod gens, their hearing will be impaired in their 20s and 30s.
oh well, crank up the volume
November 29th, 2005 at 5:40 pm
SomeDumbGuy says:
Just find a nice polka CD and play it….. the effect will be the same, at a much lower cost.
November 29th, 2005 at 10:08 pm
Mikey says:
AHA! Now I have a use for all those piezo tweeters I bought cheap. Nail up a few of these around the neighborhood, wire them to a freq generator run by a 12v car battery, hide it under a bush and watch the fun begin. I think an ultrasonic cannon might be called for to deal with the “boomcars” though…
November 30th, 2005 at 10:21 am
hatrickpatrick says:
So we can’t go into the shops now? Give us a break, the persecution of teenagers has to end… We’re not all bad…
December 4th, 2005 at 11:38 am
Jane says:
Go buy one here, they really DO work. www.teenrepel.co.uk
March 19th, 2006 at 12:58 pm
MJ says:
I think this thing is a great idea. I work in a electronics store right next to a movie theater. Unfortunately, we’ve had so much trouble with teenagers hanging out in the parking lot and in front of the store after the movie theater opened. The loitering problem is only evident late at night, and usually becomes a major problem about a half hour before the store closes. I think that if we could install something like this around our store, we wouldn’t have to have it on all the time, but only when the loitering problem is severe, like right before closing or after the store is closed.
June 29th, 2006 at 11:19 am