The Swarm: Military Unveils Insect-Sized Spy Drones

 

The next time you swat at a pesky mosquito or other insect buzzing around your head, you might want to take a second look. It could be a military spy drone with a built in camera and microphone!


Over recent years a range of miniature drones, or micro air vehicles (MAVs), based on the same physic principles used by flying insects, have been presented to the public. While it may seem like something out of novel by the late techno-thriller author Michael Crichton, experts assert that the technology is indeed quite real and that the US government is probably already utilizing it for surveillance purposes, both abroad and within the country as well.


In 2008, US Air Force unveiled insect-sized spies as small as a bumblebee that could not be detected by conventional radar and would be able to fly into buildings to photograph, record, and even attack insurgents and terrorists. The Air Force also revealed what was dubbed "mini-lethal drones" the same year, allegedly designed by using Leonardo da Vinci's blueprints for his famed Ornithopter flying machine, and claimed they would be ready for roll out by 2015.

The goal of the new breed of surveillance craft is to combine swarm technology with bio-inspired drones to operate with little or no direct human supervision in a dynamic, resource-constrained, adversarial environment.

Scientists and military experts have often looked to the natural world as inspiration for terrestrial as well as space craft, integrating elements used by birds and insects to create the perfect flying machine.

Weee....AHHHHH!!! Roller Coaster Rips Arms & Legs Off Test Dummies

Roller coaster aficionados worldwide will certainly have an "arm raising" experience riding a new thrill ride soon-to-open in the UK.

The new terrifying coaster, dubbed "The Swarm", will be opening at Thorpe Amusement Park in Surrey, England, but the ride just might be a bit too intense, after test dummies strapped in to the coaster lost appendages during a dry run. The top secret coaster cost a reported  £20,000,000 to construct, and stands 127 feet high and reaches speeds up to 62 miles per hour. But test runs for the behemoth creation were more than a little troubling after photographs revealed the amputated arms and legs of the test mannequins.

Thorpe Park, however, claims the dummies lost their limbs in the pursuit of pushing The Swarm to the "absolute limit" because customers wanted the most extreme experience possible, without losing any vital appendages. Mike Vallis, divisional director at the theme park said he was now 100 per cent satisfied the ride met safety standards.

 

The dummies were apparently damaged when the ride took them too close to a prop church built on the premises. An emergency response team was promptly called in to respond to the problem before the park opens up to the public on March 15.