SkyShield is an idea we're working on: use drones and LiDAR to predict where rainwater will collect after a storm, then treat those low spots with larvicide before mosquitoes ever get the chance to breed there.
Anopheles mosquitoes lay their eggs in still, standing water. After a rainstorm, dozens of small pools form in tire ruts, footprints, ditches, and low ground, and each one can become a nursery for the next generation.
By the time those puddles are obvious, larvae are often already developing. Spraying after the fact is slow, and it's always a step behind the weather.
The idea behind SkyShield is to flip that timeline, treating the ground before the water arrives.
Here's how the idea would work in practice. It's a repeatable flight routine that turns terrain data into precisely placed larvicide.
A drone flies a grid over the area, its LiDAR building a detailed 3D elevation map of the ground below.
Software runs virtual rainfall across that map, letting water settle into every low point, which shows where puddles will form.
The drone returns and places a targeted dose of larvicide on each predicted spot, while the ground is still dry.
When rain fills those spots, the larvicide is already there, so larvae can't mature and the breeding cycle stalls.
This is the whole idea in miniature. Scan a fresh patch of ground, spot the low areas where rain will gather, send the drone to pre-treat them while it's still dry, then bring the storm and watch it hold.
The same rain-filled low spot, side by side. On the left, nothing was done ahead of the storm. On the right, SkyShield treated the ground first.
Here's what we're aiming for as we develop the idea, and why the approach seems worth pursuing.
A drone could map and treat a wide area far faster than a ground crew walking the same terrain on foot.
Treating predicted pools before they fill aims to stop larvae in the first hours, before a population has grown.
Targeting only genuine pooling sites should mean far less larvicide spread across the area overall.
Designing the workflow and testing the flow-prediction logic in software. That's the stage you're seeing here.
●Pairing LiDAR with a drone and validating the elevation maps against real ground.
Controlled trials with approved larvicide, measuring whether pooling predictions hold up after real storms.
Working with partners and regulators to run the routine where malaria risk is highest.
SkyShield is early, and that's exactly when support matters most. Backing the concept helps fund the prototyping and testing that turn an idea into something real.