Home

On:

Why make tiny flying drones when you can fly REAL insects by remote-control? In 2006, DARPA asked US scientists to submit "innovative proposals to develop technology to create insect-cyborgs"–tiny flying robots that can perform surveillance in dangerous territory. One there was a big problem: Since they couldn’t carry much fuel, they couldn’t stay in the air very long. The solution? Use real bugs.

In the February 16th edition of the Observer, Emily Anthes quotes DARPA engineer Amit Lal as saying, "Proof of existence of small-scale flying machines is abundant in nature in the form of insects."
read more

On:

The silent drone that may be tracking you can stay on the job forever. It’s like a permanent closed circuit camera, except it’s not mounted in the local liquor store but it’s following you around. Is there any way to fight back?

The electric version of Lockheed Martin’s Stalker has a battery that usually lasts just two hours, but in a recent test, a laser power system wirelessly recharged a drone battery in midair for 24 times as long.
read more

On:

We’re being spied on by drones, but hackers have found a way to fight back!

Researchers have found a way to hack into GPS-guided drones with something called "spoofing." They can then guide them to another location or crash the drones into the ground. This works even better than the previous technique of jamming, which blocks the drones’ access to GPS signals.
read more