From: *Travis* Date: Sat, Nov 22, 2008 Subject: Careful - that fly on the wall could be a different bug
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/nation/6126340.html Careful — that fly on the wall could be a different bug Tiny robots may soon be spying on America's enemies By JAMES HANNAH Associated Press Nov. 21, 2008, 10:34PM <http://www.chron.com/photos/2008/11/21/14070183/260xStory.jpg> [image: photo] U.S. AIR FORCE ILLUSTRATION The MAVs would be designed to fly into buildings undetected, to photograph, record, and even attack terrorists. DAYTON, OHIO — If only we could be a fly on the wall when our enemies are plotting to attack us. Better yet, what if that fly could record voices, transmit video and even fire tiny weapons? That kind of James Bond-style fantasy is actually on the drawing board. U.S. military engineers are trying to design flying robots disguised as insects that could one day spy on enemies and conduct dangerous missions without risking lives. "The way we envision it is, there would be a bunch of these sent out in a swarm," said Greg Parker, who helps lead the research project at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton. "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." In essence, the research seeks to miniaturize the Unmanned Aerial Vehicle drones used in Iraq and Afghanistan for surveillance and reconnaissance. The next generation of drones, called Micro Aerial Vehicles, or MAVs, could be as tiny as bumblebees and capable of flying undetected into buildings, where they could photograph, record, and even attack insurgents and terrorists. Parker and his colleagues plan to start by developing a bird-sized robot as soon as 2015, followed by the insect-sized models by 2030. Philip Coyle, senior adviser with the Center for Defense Information in Washington D.C., said a major hurdle would be enabling the vehicles to carry the weight of cameras and microphones. "If you make the robot so small that it's like a bumblebee and then you ask the bumblebee to carry a video camera and everything else, it may not be able to get off the ground," Coyle said. 'They think it's a bird'Parker envisions the bird-sized vehicles as being able to spy on adversaries by flying into cities and perching on building ledges or power lines. The vehicles would have flappable wings but use a separate propulsion system to fly. "We think the flapping is more so people don't notice it," he said. "They think it's a bird." Parker said engineers want to build a vehicle with a 1-inch wingspan for the insect-sized ones. The tiny vehicles should also be able to withstand bumps, he said. "If you look at insects, they can bounce off of walls and keep flying," Parker said. 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