This is a more recent and fully developed version of the reconnaissance flying hummingbird device developed for and by the Pentagon, first publicly disclosed in 2009. The newly updated miniature drone now has a 8 to 10 minute flying range and is again propelled through the air with realistic flapping wings, powered by it's on-board batteries. Using a remote control, it will fly forwards, backwards, spin around 360 degrees just like a real hummingbird and has a video camera to catch everything it sees.
As cool as this is, the device and it's function seem diametrically opposed; I have a hard time envisioning our elite highly trained green beret members on a classified combat mission, and the lead member pulling out the cute robotic hummingbird out of their chest pocket to do secret recon when in close proximity of the enemy.
I did some quick net searches to find what kind of hummingbirds, if any, are found in Afghanistan and Iraq regions and didn't find a lot of information. Maybe someone knows if they are found there, otherwise these little fluorescent colored nano flying machines are going to be really conspicuous to anyone who sees them there in action.
Do you think Osama Bin Laden or any of his top henchmen will be caught bare footed tending to their opiate flowerbeds, surprised to find out that the innocent visiting hummingbird was actually a drone spy taking live video of the surrounding area? How can they then stop the innocent looking hummingbird, as it simultaneously sends it's live feeds to an awaiting larger drone, already armed and ready to shoot a live tomahawk missile to the designated coordinates?
What if the Pentagon developed a huge robotic camel spider (one they didn't tell us or the rest of the world about) that would blend in more easily to the terrain of our most recent wars? Then, they could eerily crawl with their 12" legs into enemy lines, doing the same job entitled to the hummingbird. I'm sure Al Qaeda would see it and not bat an eye as they continued to work on their terroristic plans.
Then, when close enough, the spider would rear up their hairy straw legs just at the right time, revealing a miniature A-K 47 embedded in it's mechanized arachnid jumbo-sized torso..."Die suckers!!" (footnote and tip of the hat to the low budget 70's classic Kentucky Fried Movie, where the toy robot similarly yells in a deep yet guttural voice "Eat Lead Sucker!" prior to unleashing it's machine gun arsenal).
Maybe I've got it all wrong and that these are not planned to be used overseas, but in more dangerous and covert areas, like deeply forested areas in Humboldt County. I picture the local pot grower being arrested, hands behind back, and grumbling about the damn little stupid hummingbird that helped DEA authorities bust him.
Why the public is again being updated about an espionage device currently being developed for military use, in the day and age where communication tweets fly faster and farther than a hummingbird, is beyond me. Even in the fictional spy TV show Get Smart, the protagonist spy bureau in Washington, Control, had sense to always keep their spy inventions to themselves so they could be used to battle and hopefully win against their arch-world enemy, Kaos. We could be just a tad better at keeping this information solely in the hands of our military and only those in the need to know.
As cool as this is, the device and it's function seem diametrically opposed; I have a hard time envisioning our elite highly trained green beret members on a classified combat mission, and the lead member pulling out the cute robotic hummingbird out of their chest pocket to do secret recon when in close proximity of the enemy.
I did some quick net searches to find what kind of hummingbirds, if any, are found in Afghanistan and Iraq regions and didn't find a lot of information. Maybe someone knows if they are found there, otherwise these little fluorescent colored nano flying machines are going to be really conspicuous to anyone who sees them there in action.
Do you think Osama Bin Laden or any of his top henchmen will be caught bare footed tending to their opiate flowerbeds, surprised to find out that the innocent visiting hummingbird was actually a drone spy taking live video of the surrounding area? How can they then stop the innocent looking hummingbird, as it simultaneously sends it's live feeds to an awaiting larger drone, already armed and ready to shoot a live tomahawk missile to the designated coordinates?
What if the Pentagon developed a huge robotic camel spider (one they didn't tell us or the rest of the world about) that would blend in more easily to the terrain of our most recent wars? Then, they could eerily crawl with their 12" legs into enemy lines, doing the same job entitled to the hummingbird. I'm sure Al Qaeda would see it and not bat an eye as they continued to work on their terroristic plans.
Then, when close enough, the spider would rear up their hairy straw legs just at the right time, revealing a miniature A-K 47 embedded in it's mechanized arachnid jumbo-sized torso..."Die suckers!!" (footnote and tip of the hat to the low budget 70's classic Kentucky Fried Movie, where the toy robot similarly yells in a deep yet guttural voice "Eat Lead Sucker!" prior to unleashing it's machine gun arsenal).
Maybe I've got it all wrong and that these are not planned to be used overseas, but in more dangerous and covert areas, like deeply forested areas in Humboldt County. I picture the local pot grower being arrested, hands behind back, and grumbling about the damn little stupid hummingbird that helped DEA authorities bust him.
Why the public is again being updated about an espionage device currently being developed for military use, in the day and age where communication tweets fly faster and farther than a hummingbird, is beyond me. Even in the fictional spy TV show Get Smart, the protagonist spy bureau in Washington, Control, had sense to always keep their spy inventions to themselves so they could be used to battle and hopefully win against their arch-world enemy, Kaos. We could be just a tad better at keeping this information solely in the hands of our military and only those in the need to know.
