? The selfish meme | Main | Domo arigato ?
March 16, 2006
I for one welcome a cyber-insect army
The Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (Darpa) reportedly plans to deploy remote-controlled insects to check out explosives and send transmissions. Creepy (and crawly).
Darpa believes scientists can take advantage of the evolution of insects, such as dragonflies and moths, in the pupa stage. "Through each metamorphic stage, the insect body goes through a renewal process that can heal wounds and reposition internal organs around foreign objects," its proposal document reads.
The foreign objects it suggests to be implanted are specific micro-systems - Mems - which, when the insect is fully developed, could allow it to be remotely controlled or sense certain chemicals, including those in explosives.
The foreign objects it suggests to be implanted are specific micro-systems - Mems - which, when the insect is fully developed, could allow it to be remotely controlled or sense certain chemicals, including those in explosives.
Mentioned in the same BBC article: Tactical Iraqi, a computer program that claims to teach enough Iraqi Arabic, and local body-language, to get by. The video demos are worth a look.
Posted by Ghost of a flea at March 16, 2006 08:49 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.ghostofaflea.com/cgi-bin/mt/trackback-engine.cgi/5875
