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The Army's $10M Spy Bat Still Too Big

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the who-hasn't-had-that-problem dept.

Lucas123 writes "The University of Michigan's Center for Objective Microelectronics and Biomimetic Advanced Technology (COM-BAT) is working on building a robot bat that would perform long-range reconnaissance for the U.S. Army, but U.Mich is currently struggling with miniaturizing components in order to make the bat small enough to be stealthy. 'The focus is to shrink down many electronics that while currently available would only be good if the US Army wanted, say, a 12-foot spy-bat.' Some components need to be 1,000 times smaller than they currently are. The Army's $10 million grant proposal calls for the bat to be six inches in length, weigh four ounces and use just one watt of power. The bat is supposed to be powered by a lithium-ion battery, charged by solar and wind energy, as well as simple vibrations."

2 of 199 comments (clear)

  1. Let me guess by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    We will figure this all out with EU and Israel as partners, and then watch the companies, such as Intel, AMD, and TI, ship the work to China and/or North Korea?

  2. Re:Vampire? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    *I'd* like a 12-inch pianist.