Future Watch: This Room is Bugged
Forget about those old-school spy devices planted under phones and inside vases.
October 2, 2007 12:00AM EST
Forget about those old-school spy devices planted under phones and inside vases. For the most covert spy operations, the U.S. government is planning to create cyborg insects with micro-scopic sensors, video surveillance cameras, and global positioning systems to aid the Department of Defense. A "solicitation notice" from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) explains how HI-MEMS (hybrid insect microelectromechanical systems) will introduce nanoscale electronics in moths and other insects during their early stages of metamorphic development. New tissue growth would accommodate the MEMS implants in later metamorphic stages. The proposal also suggests the use of swimming and hopping insects with embedded microphones for recording conversations and gas sensors for detecting new chemical warfare testing. "We are currently supporting three research teams at the University of Michigan, MIT, and Boyce Thompson Institute," says Jan Walker, a DARPA spokesperson. "The insect species being investigated include large moths and horned beetles."
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