Spy Fly

opencity writes "CNN (and AP) reports on the 'Spy Fly' project. "Biologists and technologists at the University of California, Berkeley have spent the past four years developing a tiny robot, called the Micromechanical Flying Insect, that they say will one day fly like a fly." Good technical stuff on the Cal Berkeley page. The Pentagon likes the idea for spying and battlefield deployment but their page has no info about weaponization or command / communication technologies."

Comments

Re:Worst Nightmare is on its way

[Anonymous Coward]

This is one of the most frightening developments I've ever seen. The only thing that might hold it in check is an underground movement of people developing technological counter-measures.

Underground? Just go to Walmart and get yourself a flyswat.

beneficial uses?

[merc_sa]

I can imagine the flybot being life savers
in rescue operations. Given the mine collapse
in the news in the last few days (congrats
all around for the successful rescue), I'm
surprised there isn't a more humanitarian spin
to promote this type of technology.

But then, talking about rescuing people doesn't
generate as much buzz as "oh my god! the
government is onto my pr0n collection!!"...

Terrorists will love that.

[Krapangor]

Imagine a spy fly with a injection system which infects people with serious deseases like Hepatitis A/B/C or AIDS.
Goodbye, Mr. President/Chancellor/King/Gran Genernalissimo.
On the other hand the Mossad can use this system to take out these mad bombing bastards. (The CIA would as usual too lame to kill these retards.)

Re: wrong questions, wrongly directed phobias

[guybarr]

crawling into people's houses, looking and listening to everything happening in every room

I'm going to risk some karma here, and suggest you're barking up the wrong tree here:

surveilance devices allready exists, they are very cheap and use realy old-fashioned technology (remember Orwell's 1984 was written >60 years ago )

and to the extent the (any) goverment wants to control the ordinary people's lives they can allready do this technologically and financially.

IMHO, the issues of privacy and citizen-state relationship are not technological by nature, but are political issues, and technology rarely changes them.
the only possible exception to the above is of encryption technology. But as for being afraid of miniature mechanical bugs listening to our conversations / sexual activities / whatever I say nothing has changed. The goverment allready has practically indetectable bugs ...

so, contrary to common geek belief, technology will nither greatly help nor greatly impede you in your civil-rights struggle. It's not a technology issue.

but that's just my non-expert oppinion, lets wait and see ...

Re:Everyones nightmare

[thales]

"What good is spending 350-400 billion a year on the military if you only spend 20 billion a year on public schools?"

Whats the good of having a well educated population that is unable to defend itself? Some power mad asshole decides "Oh boy! Suckers ripe for the plucking!"

Why do you assume that throwing money at schools will magicly cause students to become more intrested in learning than in the next album by their favorite band, or if their favorite team will make it to the Super Bowl, or if they can get some good pot this weekend, or if they will get a piece of ass or......

Re:When will society and government learn

[david duncan scott]

That you cannot invest all this money and effort, into destruction, without destroying the world as the result.

Hmmm...I have to point out that, so far, you're wrong. We've been spending all this money for almost 50 years and the world is still here. Is there a basis for your idea?