I have a friend from college who was 'working on a project that could be used for area denial' back in the early 80's. Worked pretty much the same as this but the energy level caused blindness (i.e., cataracts and retinal damage) to the designated target...which was what the design specified.
Yeah, she was a scary woman back then too.
I figure this is a spinoff of her project. I bet it'd keep those darn kids off my lawn.
Regards,
Rabbit.