Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool - Gizmodo Comments

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

guyin916 — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 17:16:03 EDT

looks like something from star trek.

guyin916

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Intro24 — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 20:32:32 EDT

This reminds me of the homing pidgeon robot from Speed Racer.

Intro24

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

jpbraconi — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:44:16 EDT

@Ghede: what if someone tries to drink it up? o.O

jpbraconi

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

ilko — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:24:13 EDT

Definitely suck on power lines like a f$(|N Minock!!!
See bats rule cause they have small muscles that change
the shape of their wings. Which is exactly what you need
to do to land on power lines! I'm thinking the flight tech
is as important as anything else...All the hobbiest people
like the autopilot guys and the paparazzi guys will eat
up a integrated nav board like the cookie monster!
You can order PCB's with integrated GPS and accelerometers...
But yeah good luck!
p34c3

ilko

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Ghede — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:17:50 EDT

I would like those things to have the ability to take-off autonomously. Toss in solar cells for wings, and you have something that can park itself in the sun when energy is low, and gtfo when energy is sufficient. Of course, something silver/metallic lying in the sun is quite noticeable... hmm. Disguise it as a soda bottle or something.

Ghede

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

j12997967 — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 17:25:22 EDT

@Git Em SteveDave:

Hey, I have that book too!

j12997967

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

XJ_4x4 — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:49:33 EDT

Bats.
Barbeque'd Bat Wings From Hell!
Yum.
(Anyone remember the name of the KROQ DJ who used that line in a skit?)

XJ_4x4

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

pevans34 — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:34:51 EDT

this is probably the only time youll ever want to hear about "shrinking the bat"

pevans34

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

ANoel — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:22:30 EDT

@Way:
"Designed for "urban combat zones."

Detroit.LA.New York.SF.Washington.Atlanta.Chicago.Bhagdad.Brownsville.Compton.Tehran.

those kinda places?

ANoel

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Curves — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:19:38 EDT

@ugar: Isn't the bat cave dark during the day? (or at night for that matter) and since bats hang upside down to sleep, the solar part faces down, even if there was light, they wont get a charge. I am just saying that since they designed it like a bat, the least they can do is give it bat-like qualities.

Curves

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

ugar — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 15:11:03 EDT

@Curves: Well, it could charge during the day, and fly during the night.

ugar

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Wilson Wrothman — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:19:54 EDT

@Manve: he wrote on US software to a US blog about US products.

eff off twat..

Wilson Wrothman

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Wilson Wrothman — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 14:18:10 EDT

@lianna_g: that's it - EXACTLY

Wilson Wrothman

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

ggvrsn — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:14:43 EDT

Isn't this the next logical step to that Camera which could be shot out of a hand-held canon for checking the urban landscape? But if this has to fly around for a long time, then I think the US is looking something like Zephyr (UK), only a little smaller.

Man always wants to develop more and more things to monitor people and control people and also give the same people gadgets to fight back. Man is self contradictory.

-GGR

ggvrsn

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

ackthbbft — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 13:11:01 EDT

Just wait for Wow-Wee to come out with the militarized version of their Dragonfly.

ackthbbft

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

strider_mt2k — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:50:33 EDT

@Kaiser-Machead: The problem is that it always always ALWAYS boils down to the apes that die come winter. :(

strider_mt2k

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

jetexas — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:45:51 EDT

I had one of these when I was a kid. It was called "The Amazing Flying Bird" and I strapped a mini 110 film camera to it's head.

Didn't work worth crap, but it didn't cost $10 million either.

jetexas

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Crescent — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:45:29 EDT

@lianna_g: wow, you are so right on, I mean this thing is just a scam to get your tax dollars, get the navi system 1000 times smaller, thats a goal all popular hi-tech companies crave for (like cellphones..) even if you get these specs ...

@ whoever mentioned that: yeah, arabs can easily train a hawk to hunt for these, it`s their tradition, then you would have to fund (with your tax money) a 100 mil $ project to detect offensive hawks and to disable them without hurting them because that would be against animal rights...

@Curves: passive agressives (?) don`t hijack planes, active ones do, you gotto be pretty actively and pretty agressive to do something against your religion, for your religion.

Crescent

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Out2gtcha — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:39:43 EDT

@Manve:
Hey opinion is opinion. Not unlike arsewholes, everyone's got one and they mostly stink, but come on. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and entitled to comment on it here within the boundaries of the site, but at least make it funny, interesting, or provocative….. or even inflammatory.

That was none of the above.

Out2gtcha

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

lianna_g — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:31:34 EDT

@flyboy: there is no real thing, there won't be any real thing, cuz a 4 oz. tin can would be completely at the mercy of wind shear. And to keep it flying on a rechargeable BATTERY? Please. This is another photoshopped, defense industry, funding wetdream.

lianna_g

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Curves — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:26:53 EDT

@Manve: Its cool to hate our government, a lot of us dont like it either.

If you hate us though, please have the gonads to come at us from the front, guns blazing instead of being passive/agressive little cowards, hijacking planes and crashing them into buildings or hiding behind women and children and blowing up civilans. I, for one, think our armed forces will welcome you with open arms, or bullets. I know I would.

Curves

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

junyo — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:24:18 EDT

@Manve:
Can we get a hate sensor on the flying bat spy bombs?

junyo

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

shawn_dude — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:15:22 EDT

Seriously... hawks, eagles, and owls would be snatching these things out of the sky.

How effective are they on a windy day?

At any rate, 10 million of funding into communication miniaturization and improved solar technologies has far reaching benefits.

Hey! this beast could launch from the backs of those robotic anti-personnel dogs and help guide the packs to their intended, politically unpopular victims!

shawn_dude

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Git Em SteveDave is starlost — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:14:40 EDT

@Manve: But the u.s love you. How 'bout a hug?

Git Em SteveDave is starlost

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Manve — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:12:53 EDT

i hate the u.s

Manve

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Wilson Wrothman — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:09:37 EDT

good computer graphics - want to see the real thing.

Wilson Wrothman

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

bramachari — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 12:03:17 EDT

Make me one with a resevoir tip.

bramachari

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Evan394 — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:55:46 EDT

@Way: Dude. My Mom died from not dodging a puppy with C4 taped to it...

...bastards!

Evan394

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Kaiser-Machead on the Edge — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:47:16 EDT

@strider_mt2k: Robotic bat hawks? :P

How about some nifty entomopters that look like dragonflies?

How about robotic roaches that scurry around the buildings?

Kaiser-Machead on the Edge

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

klamathrvrat — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:47:03 EDT

They eat bats in China and Bornio.

klamathrvrat

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

klamathrvrat — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:44:45 EDT

to ACO that was my first thought. just what the obombies need a bat bomb.

klamathrvrat

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Git Em SteveDave is starlost — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:44:24 EDT

@AC0: If you look at the back end, there are what look like the landing hooks a la navy planes. It could work.

Git Em SteveDave is starlost

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

strider_mt2k — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:43:05 EDT

What eats bats?

Lets get some of those up here.

strider_mt2k

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Git Em SteveDave is starlost — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:36:39 EDT

@junyo: against Japan in Japan. It would be tough to use these against the Japanese navy at Midway or the such. Sorry if I phrased it wrong.

Git Em SteveDave is starlost

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

AC0 — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:35:13 EDT

It'd be cool if they could latch onto power lines and use an induction coil to charge.

AC0

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Out2gtcha — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:25:32 EDT

Vapor-war....I mean Vapor-bat?

Out2gtcha

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

BigDanInTX — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:22:21 EDT

It's getting to a point where these things will be so small, you won't even know they're there! If they are small enough and hover, you could put one right under the ledge of a building and you couldn't see it. Anyone play Frontlines? You'll know what I mean. You can put the thing inside a window and still spot the enemy. It's pretty wicked.

BigDanInTX

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

junyo — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:14:42 EDT

@Git Em SteveDave:
Use against Japan.

junyo

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Maksimir is on a bender. — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:04:38 EDT

Concept? Ohhhhh.. I want one now!

Maksimir is on a bender.

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

swoehl — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 11:01:52 EDT

Great tech. But from a program management standpoint, this program is risk dense. You have large tech you are looking to miniaturize (cost, schedule, and performance risk) and then integrating that into a subsystem (cost and schedule risk) and finally developing your flying bat platform and integrating the subsystem onto that (cost, schedule, performance risk). And who is going to managing the program - the ARMY! Not known for their stellar program management skills (botched IED proof vehicles anyone?).

I wish it could happen for $10M, but you have to figure at least $20M - $25M. Develop, test, and buy. The money will be taken from this program in the 2nd or 3rd year dut to cost overruns and/or lagging schedule and given to some other program that is in dire need of the money just to stay out of the garbage pile.

7+ years in gov't acquisitions gets you pretty pessimistic about anything that is wonderfully techy and could be useful to the warfighter.

swoehl

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Geisrud — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:56:01 EDT

Price and availability please! I so want one of these.

Geisrud

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

GiltProto — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:43:51 EDT

I'm thinking that garlic will be an excellent counter-measure for these things.

GiltProto

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

cave12man — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:42:04 EDT

how come they havent turned these things into remote detonating devil bats? im sure ozzy would be proud

cave12man

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

valarmorghulis — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:35:07 EDT

@Curves: I wouldn't imagine that it needs to be 'active' to recharge.

valarmorghulis

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Git Em SteveDave is starlost — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:32:55 EDT

@DJrock3k: Actually, bats were once tested for use in Japan as combat weapons. In a weird twist, during one of the "tests", the napalm bombs that were attached to each bat were accidentally armed, which resulted in most of a abandoned air force base burning down.

Git Em SteveDave is starlost

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

TKE-Egon — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:30:09 EDT

@DJrock3k: it could BEEEEE the bomb (pun intended =P)

TKE-Egon

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Way — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:21:57 EDT

@Curves: Designed for "urban combat zones." I don't think that while dodging bullets, missiles, and/or puppies with C4 taped to them anyone is really going to notice that 200 feet up is no mere pigeon.

Way

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

DJrock3k — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:21:01 EDT

It's good that these will be for survaillance and not used as a weapons platform, like many UAVs. I mean, It's too small for a flying bomb, right?

No, wait...

DJrock3k

Army's Miniature Spy-Bat Concept Makes Lucius Fox Drool

Curves — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 10:17:04 EDT

Since bats only come out at night and these are solar powered, doesnt that sort of kill off the stealth part?

Curves