Team:Westminster/Modelling

Our project did not contain internal model generation, instead we received a model from the UCL iGEM team. The model simulated bed bugs moving randomly in a cubic room. One of our proposed blood traps was integrated into the simulation, which visually demonstrated bed bugs being attracted and then subsequently killed by the device.

This simulation was written in C#, in a similar manner to UCL's own model. The animation below shows the model operating. Red dots represent bedbugs; as they move to the bottom-left hand corner of the floor, they are killed and removed from the model.

Below this animation are a couple of graphs demonstrating the potential uses of the model. The first shows the approach of a single bedbug to the device; note the random fluctuation in addition to the directional motion. The second graph shows the effect of room size on time taken for all bedbugs to reach the device and die.

The main collaboration for the Westminster project was with the UCL undergraduate team. The partnership was very beneficial to us and the UCL team were very helpful in enhancing our project!!

The robust model allowed us to see how effective our device could be if it were to be developed as a real product, which is a very exciting prospect to consider that our project could be taken forward.

Click here to visit the UCL iGEM collaboration page