October 12, 2007

Dragonfly or Insect Spy? Some suspect the insectlike drones are high-tech surveillance tools, perhaps deployed by the Department of Homeland Security...No agency admits to having deployed insect-size spy drones. But a number of U.S. government and private entities acknowledge they are trying. Some federally funded teams are even growing live insects with computer chips in them, with the goal of mounting spyware on their bodies and controlling their flight muscles remotely.
posted by HawthorneWingo 17 years ago
  • Time to JUMP!
  • No shit! If these things witnessed in Lafayette Square were indeed surveillance drones, someone needs to be out there catching these little devil bastards at future "demonstrations". *mind spins*
  • i am torn between wanting one and wanting a fly-swatter.
  • > The Hybrid Insect Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems project That's some disturbing research.
    "You might recall that Gandalf the friendly wizard in the recent classic 'Lord of the Rings' used a moth to call in air support," DARPA program manager Amit Lal said at a symposium in August. Today, he said, "this science fiction vision is within the realm of reality."
    What a pisspoor analogy.
  • It makes me wonder - - if such devices are actively employed by government agencies, would they be equipped with some type of "self-destruct" feature in the event that they are intercepted or otherwise compromised? I can imagine myself capturing one, and then losing a hand as a tiny "suicide" pellet embedded within the creature detonates. And perhaps if that did not happen, I would be inclined to cover the bugger in some kind of heavy canvas, and make my way to a dirty back alley of Manhattan - - where I would proceed to clip the wings, say a few nasty words, and relieve myself upon it before applying a final destructive stomp. This day is dragging on, and why, I thought I would engage in some fantasy role play!
  • Dragonfly-Sized The thread on Slashdot about this is quite enlightening.
  • If you protesting hippies would bathe once in a while maybe you wouldn't be surrounded by insects.
  • where I would proceed to clip the wings, say a few nasty words, and relieve myself upon it before applying a final destructive stomp. Uh, no. Before making sure there's no explosive self-destruct mechanism, I wouldn't expose any sensitive body parts to that devilish thing...
  • Get out the FLYSWATTER!
  • Hey, maybe this is what's behind the bee disappearance.
  • Pah. Useless without a lodestone resonator.