November 19, 2006

Necessity Is the Mother of Invention

A swarm of these little buggers would scare the bejebus out of me:

Israel is using nanotechnology to try to create a robot no bigger than a hornet that would be able to chase, photograph and kill its targets, an Israeli newspaper reported on Friday.

The flying robot, nicknamed the "bionic hornet", would be able to navigate its way down narrow alleyways to target otherwise unreachable enemies such as rocket launchers, the daily Yedioth Ahronoth said.

It is one of several weapons being developed by scientists to combat militants, it said. Others include super gloves that would give the user the strength of a "bionic man" and miniature sensors to detect suicide bombers.

The research integrates nanotechnology into Israel's security department and will find creative solutions to problems the army has been unable to address, Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres told Yedioth Ahronoth.

"The war in Lebanon proved that we need smaller weaponry.

Killer bees indeed. This reminds me a little of what Isaac Asimov described in the Foundation Trilogy.

Posted by Charles Austin at November 19, 2006 10:04 AM
Comments

I heard they were also developing super boots that would give the user the speed of the bionic man. However, they have hit a snag because the user can only run in slow-motion.

Where's Steve Austin when you really need him.

Posted by: Jon at 12:17 PM