Insect-Sized Spy Drone Robots Unveiled

[sreekimpact]

Just when you thought insects couldn't get any creepier, the US Air Force has unveiled tiny finger-sized insect spy drones that would be undetectable to most. The example above can be used to inject toxins into enemies during wars. Continue reading for two videos and more information.
[video]http://www.youtube.com/embed/hP7FtwEejVI?[/video]
[video]http://www.youtube.com/embed/K1EYpAqqC2s?[/video]



A small insect or a mosquito over your ear may now be much more than simply annoying. Those could easily be micro drones which now come in a swarm of bug-sized flying spies.
In an effort to create a hard-to-detect surveillance drone that will operate with little or no direct human supervision in out of the way and adverse environments, researchers are mimicking nature.
The University of Pennsylvania GRASP Lab showed off a network of 20 nano-quad rotors capable of agile flight, which could swarm and navigate in an environment with obstacles.
This is another step away from bulky heavily armed aerial vehicles or humanoid robots to a much smaller level of tiny remote-control devices. While current drones lack manoeuvrability, can’t hover and move fast enough, these new devices will be able to land precisely and fly off again at speed. One day the military hope they may prove a crucial tactical advantage in wars and could even save lives in disasters. They can also be helpful inside caves and barricaded rooms to send back real-time intelligence about the people and weapons inside.
A report in NetworkWorld online news suggests the research is based on the mechanics of insects, which potentially can be reverse-engineered to design midget machines to scout battlefields and search for victims trapped in rubble.
In an attempt to create such a device, scientists have turned to flying creatures long ago, examining their perfect conditions for flight, which have evolved over millions of years.
Zoologist Richard Bomphrey has told the British Daily Mail newspaper he has conducted research to generate new insight into how insect wings have evolved over the last 350 million years.
“By learning those lessons, our findings will make it possible to aerodynamically engineer a new breed of surveillance vehicles that, because they are as small as insects and also fly like them, completely blend into their surroundings," the newspaper quotes him as saying.
The US Department of Defense has turned its attention to miniature drones, or micro air vehicles long ago.

Image from video of a swarm of Nano Qardrotors, posted at GRASP Laboratory website
As early as in 2007 the US government was accused of secretly developing robotic insect spies when anti-war protesters in the US saw some flying objects similar to dragonflies or little helicopters hovering above them. No government agency has admitted to developing insect-size spy drones though some official and private organizations have admitted that they were trying.
In 2008, the US Air Force showed off bug-sized spies as "tiny as bumblebees" that would not be detected when flying into buildings to "photograph, record, and even attack insurgents and terrorists."
The same year US government's military research agency (DARPA) conducted a symposium discussing 'bugs, bots, borgs and bio-weapons.'
Around the same time the so-called Ornithopter flying machine based on Leonardo Da Vinci’s designs was unveiled and claimed they would be ready for roll out by 2015
Lockheed Martin's Intelligent Robotics Laboratories unveiled "maple-seed-like" drones called Samarai that also mimic nature. US troops could throw them like a boomerang to see real-time images of what's around the next corner.
The US is not alone in miniaturizing drones that imitate nature: France, the Netherlands and Israel are also developing similar devices.

 

[Saifullah Sani]

Tiny Robot Mosquito Drones being Researched by the US Government
Story:

Is this a mosquito? No. It’s an insect spy drone for urban areas, already in production, funded by the US Government. It can be remotely controlled and is equipped with a camera and a microphone. It can land on you, and it may have the potential to take a DNA sample or leave RFID tracking nanotechnology on your skin. It can fly through an open window, or it can attach to your clothing until you take it in your home.

Hoax or Fact:

Mixture of hoax and facts.

Analysis:

The story comes with a picture claiming to show a Mosquito spy drone that can take photographs and DNA samples of people, and that it is funded by the U.S government for tracking people.

It is a fact that there are reports suggesting that research is going on to develop the MAV's, i.e. Micro Air Vehicles in the form of tiny flying objects like a mosquito. The purpose of these MAVs is to be useful in scientific and military applications. The micro flying robot can have cameras, microphones and other sensors that can take pictures, videos and other useful scientific and biological information from people and places where humans (or the military) cannot reach. This way the tiny flying robots can also be used as spies and weapons against enemies.

Earlier Citations
In 2007, at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots and Systems (IROS), the latest developments in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were showcased. Scientists talked about the design of micro UAVs of insect-size that actually flap their tiny little wings, and convey important communication information in a given mission. Not just from U.S, there were in total 20 UAV-related papers at the conference, from four continents and eight countries, including Portugal, Germany, France, Switzerland, Japan, Australia, Mexico, and Brazil.

In 2008, the U.S. military engineers were trying to design flying robots disguised as insects which can fly and spy on enemies to conduct dangerous missions without risking human lives. Refer to an animated picture in the image section below. Greg Parker, who helps lead this research at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton talks about this saying:

"The way we envision it is, there would be a bunch of these sent out in a swarm. If we know there's a possibility of bad guys in a certain building, how do we find out? We think this would fill that void."

Parker and his team planned to start and develop such a bird-sized robot as soon as 2015, followed by the insect-sized models by 2030.

The Facts

The picture shown in the story is not a real robot mosquito drone, but simply one such proposed 'prototype' that may become reality in future, and perhaps they will also be able to take photographs and DNA samples of people. But as of now, these are only speculations, and not facts in practical. A quote from RT America confirms the same:

As early as in 2007 the US government was accused of secretly developing robotic insect spies when anti-war protesters in the US saw some flying objects similar to dragonflies or little helicopters hovering above them. No government agency has admitted to developing insect-size spy drones though some official and private organizations have admitted that they were trying.

Tiny Robot Mosquito Drones being Researched by the US Government | Technology