I use to be an avid watcher of the TV series ‘Elementary’, a modern day Sherlock Holmes…..one episode was about an assassination of a guy by a drone in NYC and of course Sherlock was pressed into investigating….while he was a miniature drone was sent to keep an eye on his investigation, about the size of a fly….
I thought that was a Hell of an idea a miniature drone and its applications….
“Here in my hand is a mosquito-like type of robot. Miniature bionic robots like this one are especially suited to information reconnaissance and special missions on the battlefield,” Liang Hexiang, a student at the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT), told CCTV while holding up the drone between his fingers.
We’ve already entered the drone age. Once the stuff of science fiction, drones are now woven into everyday life. They inspect power lines, monitor endangered wildlife, and deliver medical supplies or even just groceries. But in warfare, their impact is most profound.
In conflicts from Ukraine to the Middle East, drones have transformed modern warfare — used for everything from precision strikes to real-time surveillance and even psychological operations. Cheap, commercially available quadcopters can be outfitted with explosives or cameras, turning them into weapons or eyes in the sky. Militaries and militias alike have embraced them, shifting the balance of power away from traditional forces. As this technology becomes smaller, smarter, and more autonomous, drones are rewriting the rules of engagement.
It’s designed to mimic the flight of real insects. Two leaf-like wings flap rapidly to keep it airborne, while three hair-thin legs may help it land or perch on surfaces. Though the design is biologically inspired, the engineering is anything but natural. Inside the body, advanced power systems, miniature sensors, and control electronics must all be packed into a space no larger than a coin.
Its biggest advantage is stealth. If the drone escapes undetected, it can offer valuable information in an urban setting. It could also be used in search and rescue missions or even in electronic or mass surveillance.
https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/mosquito-china-drones/
Obviously this smaller size would be perfect for intel gathering but could it be fitted with a potent quick acting toxin and used to eliminate adversaries?
As the article states China is not the only country in search of smaller and smaller drones.
Fascinating stuff.
I Read, I Write, You Know
“lego ergo scribo”
I think drones will make tanks and APVs obsolete. The Ukraine War has shown that there is little defence against a drone, including sophisticated camouflage. A $300 drone can disable or destroy a $4 million tank. The next step will have to be ‘anti-drone’ technology; jamming signals, or bringing them down with some kind of net.
Best wishes, Pete.
I am fascinated with the size they are becoming…..I can see many useful ways to employ them chuq
I fly drones, or did. ranging from small sizes that could land in the palm of my hand up to ones that took up almost the whole bed of my pickup truck. They’re great fun to play with. I was more interested in them as flying camera platforms.
They’re getting more and more difficult to fly legally due to ever changing local,. state and federal restrictions. The only ones that are legal for the average person to fly these days without special licensing (at least legally) have to be under 250 grams in weight and modern drones now have to have built in geofencing to prevent them from flying near airports. etc. Mine had to be registered with the FAA and a FAA issued license/registration number had to be prominently displayed on the exterior, and somewhere on the interior of the drone. I sold my last one a couple of months ago because I was getting a bit bored with them. And the amount of red tape I’d have to deal with was getting worse too. It was at the point where the types of drones I wanted to fly would require a special UAV pilot’s license.
That seems to be the trend for down here one must leap through all kinds of hoops to own and especially to fly one. chuq
yeah. every year it seems they add more and more restrictions. To be fair there are good reasons why. Almost as soon as drones became popular people started to abuse them. Paparazzi harassing celebrities with them, perverts trying to get video of people swimming or sunbathing, spying on neighbors, flying them into fire scenes and endangering emergency helicopters and water tankers… Well you get the idea.
Yep….by those self-serving dorks that want a vid for the YouTube page. chuq
agreed. We live in a heavily wooded area (in the middle of the heavily wooded er, woods), and up until recently we would often hear drones whizzing around, sounding like extremely large beeeeeze. Lately, nothing. Im not disappointed.
They have their uses, but the idea of people using them to spy on the neighbors is creepy as hell…