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Comment by feupan | Hacker News Reader

That’s not how reflections work. Also there’s no bug as big as a coin that such a system could/should kill, so it’s pretty easy to not misdetect that.

Again, corners have a higher probability of ending up in your eye than even just someone flipping a coin in 2022.

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It's just an example. I've worked with industrial laser cutters (100+watt CO2) before and even with all of the protective equipment built into the machines, you still wear glasses. The idea that you could use something like this in an exposed way is crazy to anyone who's actually worked with them. Any mistake is instant and permanent. You can't make a consumer product out of this. Maybe like a large box that only mosquitos could enter but at that point, you have easier methods than a visual system moving a laser to mm tolerances.

I would like to have a cheap laser engraver/cutter but I am just afraid to buy one. Most kits don't have any protection at all except for some goggles. This might be fine for yourself but not for someone stepping into the room.

Lasers are no joke.

'Don't look into the laser with your remaining eye' is also no joke.

They are absolutely no joke.

For the small uncovered diode laser cutters, I'd recommend setting it up & running it remotely. If you use a laptop with a webcam & some remote desktop software, you can operate one safely it from a different room.

There are many covered desktop ones that I think are a bit safer though. Ventilation is also a big concern.

The comment said your system has a bug as in it malfunctions and decides to shoot the coin anyways, and his other point was you will be looking at the coin wide eyed so perfect chance for a reflected laser to hit you in the eye if by chance the correct angle happens to line up and send it back to your eye. Also, I've seen too much unbelievable stuff actually happen so nothing is unbelievable in 2022. Yes we are talking highly unprobeable but with 7 billion people on earth we have to account for the unprobeable to happen.

And how many of those 7 billion people will die of mosquito-borne diseases...?

It's time to wipe out them out. We don't need mosquitoes, and neither does Mother Nature. Use gene tech to do the job, not Rube Goldberg hacks with lasers.

Oh I am all for laser defense, I was merely pointing out that op is correct in that a system like this will likely go wrong some how. But I honestly don't think they would use them in household setting but rather use them on the outskirts or around ponds and use it for other pests in fields away from human eyes.

Ok.. So bats die of hunger, we don't need them either, and all the way up to humans (AI said...)

Bats don't need mosquitoes, either.

https://www.gardenmyths.com/myth-bats-eat-mosquitoes/

Right, because nothing else we already use has any chance of causing permanent damage. Nothing at all.

Leave your bubble, I’m talking about relative probability, I’m not saying that it’s “impossible.” We accept far greater risks in our daily life than this.

I know it is new years but you sound like an angry drunk. I know there are lots of risks in life I have taken many of them. I used to work at a Bungy jump and jumped hundreds of times. I ride a motorcycle at high speeds. I was simply commenting to the fact that your original comment did not respond correctly to the ops comment. He said a bug in the system as in a computer error bug and you went off and said there is not bug that big that would be mistaken, he wasn't talking about an insect but a computer error. Then you said that is not how reflections work, and again not true it could reflect into your eye not simply because he was looking at it but it would also take a certain angle but op was making a general statement about possible dangers. You are very defensive about this just chill out and accept that we are just discussing some of the possible dangers of such a system. We are, after all, talking about lasers and it would be totally irresponsible if such a system was built and all the modes of failure not explored. Not likely to happen does not mean you do not discuss it. Have a happy new years.

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