China’s new spy toy is a mosquito drone
Is that a mosquito… or a spy? China’s new drone will have you paranoid.
Have you ever swatted at a mosquito and thought, “Is this thing…watching me?”
Well, you might want to start asking that question for real.
China just unveiled a tiny spy drone that looks exactly like a mosquito.
Yup, the future is here, and it’s buzzing right past your ear.
This little critter (nearly invisible to the human eye) isn’t just a gimmick.
It’s a fully operational, smartphone-controlled, hair-thin-legged, wing-flapping micro spy drone.
The drone measures up to just 2cm long and weighs 0.3 grams.
It was built by researchers at the National University of Defence Technology (NUDT) in China’s Hunan province, and it’s designed for battlefield reconnaissance and special missions.
It’s basically the James Bond of the insect world.
“Miniature bionic robots like this one are especially suited to information reconnaissance and special missions on the battlefield,” said NUDT student Liang Hexiang in a CCTV 7 broadcast.
Here’s a picture of the student’s hand holding the miniature spy drone. It’s literally smaller than a USB.
However, it’s not just China playing creepy-crawly James Bond. The US also has its own lineup of micro spy tech.
Harvard’s RoboBee can fly, land like a crane fly, and is being explored for everything from environmental monitoring to disaster surveillance.
If all goes well, it could eventually be used for artificial pollination (because the bees are onto us).
Then there’s the US military’s Black Hornet drones. Tiny enough to fit in your pocket, equipped with cameras and thermal imaging.
It’s for those moments when you really need to know what’s happening behind enemy lines… or behind your neighbour’s fence (kidding… kind of).
Who would’ve thought that the future would involve blurring the line between nature and machine.
Today it’s mosquitoes, tomorrow…who knows? Although, there’s no need to panic yet.
Although, if your cat starts charging itself via USB, maybe then you can panic.
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