NEW YORK, 7:28 PM, SAT JUL 26 | 20 POSTS IN THE LAST 24 HOURS | tips@gizmodo.com | RSS
UK | FR | NL | IT | DE | ES | JP | AU
Posts Tagged “

Spy

psp

More PSP 3000 Spy Shots

A tipster mailed in these additional PSP spy shots to go along with the ones we saw yesterday. Assuming this is real, it shows a black PSP with the new PlayStation button, the mic hole, and a thinner outer ring. There's also the headphone jack with the TV out port which features more arrows than before. Color us amazed. If anything, this says that everyone, from Sony themselves to people who have nothing better to do than to make fakes and seed them to news sites online, aren't really expecting much out of the next iteration of the PSP. More »

nothing to see here

DelFly Micro Dragonfly Is Smallest Creepy Autonomous Spybot Yet

We told you the tiny DelFly II robotic dragonfly spy cam was just the beginning, and we were right. The same Dutch roboticist is now unveiling the DelFly Micro—with a wingspan of just 10cm and a weight of 3.07 grams, it's the first to be smaller than an actual real-life dragonfly. Granted, the dragonfly being used for comparison is Borneo's Tetracanthagyna plagiata, which has a frankly horrifying 20cm wingspan—the largest in the world, no less. But still, now you're even less likely to realize those annoying bugs whizzing around during your protest march are actually just autonomous insectoid ornithopters keeping an eye on you—nothing to worry about. See it take to the air, complete with live eye-in-the-sky video feed, below. More »

holy underpants

Japanese iPhone 3G Is Perverts' Worst Friend

According to reporter Nobuyuki Hayashi, the camera of the iPhone 3G sold in Japan will make a shutter sound every time you take a photo, even if you put the telephone in silent mode. The reason: all those pervs taking photos up the skirts of unsuspected women in public places. More »

W350a

AT&T-Branded Sony-Ericsson W350a Mysteriously Appears On eBay

It looks like the Sony-Ericsson W350a is coming to AT&T later this year. One of the handsets has appeared mysteriously on eBay with AT&T branding. It's not a super-new phone, but the fact that it's got the AT&T logo is something interesting. Was this a demo phone? A loaner from SE? Will AT&T carry the phone in the near future? We don't know, but Sony-Ericsson fans have just perked up their ears. [PhoneNews]

drone

Research UAV is Preview of Hovering Spy Drones of Tomorrow

Meet STARMAC, the Stanford Testbed of Autonomous Rotorcraft for Multi-Agent Control. Possibly the cleverest remote control mini-helicopter you've ever seen, packed with GPS, sensors and computer power. It's a research quad-rotor that the Stanford team is using to develop algorithms for future aircraft like it. More »

mission impossible

$20,000 Spy Camera Disguised as Garbage Thrown Out With The Trash

A spy camera hidden in a black bag beside a notorious UK "fly-tipping" (or illegal waste dumping in the King's English) hot spot was recently thrown out by local workers with the other garbage. Apparently, this operation was so top secret that the workers in question did not need to know the details before being sent off to pick up the trash. To make matters worse, the camera has been valued at somewhere between $14 and $20,000. Basically, its just a hilarious waste of taxpayer money illustrated using equally hilarious British terminology. [Telegraph via Digg]

rumor smashed

Nikon D700 Shots Revealed as Fake

Darnit darnit—that's what you'll be saying if you're an eager Nikon fan, waiting for the new mid-range D700 DSLR. Those shots we showed you in our previous rumor post? Yep: faked. Over on NikonD700.com they've got a link to the original pre-Photoshopped image on Flickr. It's of a D300, and is clearly of a higher quality and resolution than the D700 fake. See below for the full pic. More »

security

Pennycam Captures Convenience Store Thieves, Penny Pinchers

I know how it is with you man—you see that "Take-a-Penny, Leave-a-Penny" tray and it is all "take, take, take!" Well your days of penny pinching are over now that SteathVue has developed their Pennycam. What they have done is to embed a security camera inside the tray that relays upward angled video to a DVR using a standard BNC cable. Obviously, Pennycam is intended to capture clearer (500 x 582 resolution) images of thieves that try and obscure their face from overhead cameras—and it seems to work pretty well based on the footage in the following demo video. More »

spy sats

Photographer Puts 189 Non-Existent Spy Satellites on Show

"Yesterday up in the air I snapped a sat that wasn't there"— so might photographer Trevor Paglen say about his show at the University of California at Berkeley Art Museum. It's a series of photos of 189 secret satellites: the ones that officially "don't exist." Dubbed The Other Night Sky the photos are time-lapse images of the snoop-sats moving through the night sky, made with a custom star-tracker. Apparently it's his attempt to draw similarities between government secrecy and Galileo's historic tangles with the Catholic church. Found with the help of an amateur astronomer, each photo is of a named spy sat, and they're quietly beautiful—if you can forget the eerie spying aspect. The show runs until September 14. [Wired]

keyboards

'Really Cool' Keyboard Is Silent, Waterproof For Underwater Spy-Typing Adventures

This "Really Cool" keyboard mixes two things we really love about keyboards: the ability to type quietly and the ability to withstand a glass of milk being poured on it. It's completely sealed in a silicone outer shell with "no" moving parts, which explains its waterproof-ness. If our experience with silicone keyboards is worth anything, these things are pretty hard to type on, making this a silent, waterproof and awkward keyboard. [Man Machine via DVICE]

software

Surveillance Camera Software Blurs the Faces of the Innocent


Advanced video surveillance cameras that discreetly examine each face or vehicle that comes into frame are becoming more commonplace in big cities and large corporations. These cameras are equipped with intelligence algorithms that can distinguish the face, vehicle or license plate of a wanted criminal and alert the proper authorities when necessary. However, innocent people often get involved in these recordings simply because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time. A video analysis company named 3VR is now attempting to change all that. More »

airplanes

European Union Tests Automated Airplane Seat-Back Spy Cams to Detect Terrorism Faces

The European Union's Security of Aircraft in the Future European Environment (SAFEE) is testing some kind of nebulous facial detection system that will suss out whether your expression is one of a terrorist planning on commandeering the ride or just diarrhea face. More »

cia spytech

5 Reasons to Check Out the CIA Spycraft Book

Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs from Communism to Al-Qaeda goes on sale in stores today. I know you think I probably milked it for all it's worth, but there's actually a ton of mind-boggling spy gear in there that I didn't have a chance to cover on Giz, such as: More »

watches

The Veldini Q Wristwatch Was Inspired By James Bond: And it Has the Spy Gadgets to Prove It

Even if eavesdropping on your co-worker's personal phone calls is the closest you will ever get to becoming a spy, a watch filled with spy gadgets is hard for any man to resist. Perhaps that is why Veldini plans on releasing at least 3 different models of their new "Q" James Bond inspired wristwatch. Each will feature its own set of tools geared towards a specific scenario: outdoor use, spy use, and everyday use.

More »

cia spytech

A Gallery of CIA Spy Cameras

In celebrating the launch of Spycraft, I've looked at all kinds of gadgets, but the bread and butter of Cold War CIA gear were tiny cameras and listening devices. The bugs aren't so exciting to look at, though the stories of their placement make great reading. The cameras, on the other hand, always come in clever "concealments." More »

spy stick

Walking Stick with Built-in Telescope: for the Victorian Perv in You

Not quite as high-tech as the CIA spy gear Wilson's been showing, but almost a steampunk modding of a normal walking stick... this cane with built-in telescope gave me a smile the moment I saw it. Mainly because I pictured a Victorian gent strolling along, then popping out the 3x mag telescope to steal a forbidden glimpse of distant ankle. Simpler days, eh? It has a one-inch wide, 37-inch high African rosewood stick, so it should be good as a real walking aid, and there's a brass handle for an extra touch of style. It's available now for $89.95... useful for countryside strolls, and, of course, for the odd bit of *ahem* bird-spotting. [HammacherSchlemmer via Red Ferret]

cia spytech

CIA Spy Gadgets Revealed: Q Ain't Got Nothin' On Langley

This week is Gizmodo's salute to CIA spy technology. What's the occasion? The May 29th release of Spycraft: The Secret History of the CIA's Spytechs from Communism to al-Qaeda, by Robert Wallace and H. Keith Melton (with Henry R. Schlesinger). While we don't typically review books, this one happens to be the best we've ever seen on the subject of old-school spyware, a book the CIA itself held up for many many months before just barely deeming it safe for public consumption, a book that pretty much proves that all the freaky spy gadgetry you've seen in movies—and some that you haven't—is ALL TOTALLY REAL.

More »

spy tech

RC-12 Mini Camera is Tiny, Works Underwater, Wireless to 30 Meters

The RC-12 Mini Camera is essentially a 1.2 GHz wireless camera with a 30 meter range, a 2.7 MP CMOS sensor and waterproof housing. It looks about as big as a LEGO brick and can shoot 45 minutes of video on a single charge. This camera isn't anything I have any practical use for, but it's the type of gadget I would find a non-practical use for (and no, I won't drop some lame girls' locker room reference here—wait...shit). I'd probably have this thing express shipped to my doorstep if it didn't cost $270. That hurts. [Killian Nakamura via Ubergizmo via Oh Gizmo!]