When most people think of drones, they think of the picture to the right. An unmanned, aerial vehicle used in wartime situations on foreign soil.
While this perception is certainly true, the FAA Reauthorization Act signed into law in 2012 took the concept of drones to an entirely new – and frightening – level.
Predator drones once confined to the battlefields are already being used domestically for a wide range of functions. According to the Rutherford Institute, at least 30,000 drones will occupy U.S. airspace by 2020, a staggering $30 billion per year industry.
And these drones are not what you think they are.
I was shocked to learn recently that the vast majority of these thousands upon thousands of drones, some already unleashed over America’s skies, are tiny – even nano sized, and modeled after birds, insects and other small animals.
56 government agencies are currently authorized to use drones with 63 active drone sites across the nation. This includes 22 law enforcement agencies and 24 universities. The cheap cost of deploying drones compared with manned technologies is a big part of the driving force to quickly adopt drones in a widespread manner. For example, a manned helicopter or airplane can cost around $600/hour whereas a drone costs a fraction of that at less than $25/hour.
Pandora’s Box has already been opened with regard to drones, and there is no going back so we’d best just get ready to deal with it.
Here’s a rundown of some of the drones already developed according to a recent article by John Whitehead of the Rutherford Institute:
Dragonfly drones. The US government is using small, aerial surveillance drones in the form of insects. Dragonfly drones were first reportedly used in 2007 to hover over protesters at an anti-war rally in Washington, DC. A year later, the US Air Force announced bumblebee drones that apparently cannot be detected. The purpose? To fly into buildings to “photograph, record, and even attack insurgents and terrorists.’”
Hummingbird drones. About the size of an actual hummingbird, “Nano Hummingbird” drones can fit into the palm of your hand. Developed by the Department of Defense, it is able to blend in with surroundings, flitting and surveilling as needed.
Black Hornet Nano drone. Comparable in size to a finch at about four inches long, this micro-helicopter drone is able to capture video footage and relay it along with still images to remote locations even in windy conditions.
Roachbots. Mimicking a cockroach’s covertness and a gecko’s speed, roach drones are 10 cm long running and climbing machines. UC Berkeley developed the little terrors that can perform “rapid inversion” maneuvers including dashing up to a ledge and then swinging around to end up underneath the ledge and upside-down – just like a real roach.
MicroBat drone. Designed to emulate the movement of birds and other flying animals, the bat drone was created by CIT Group, Aerovironment, and UCLA.
Spy-butterfly drone. Two large wings are the identifying features of another insect inspired drone unveiled in 2012 in Israel. Dubbed the “spy-butterfly”, it weighs only 20 grams with indoor surveillance its primary purpose including public areas such as mass transit stations, airports or even office buildings. These nearly noiseless butterfly drones are considered ideal for intelligence gathering and are apparently so realistic, that when they were tested, real birds and flies fell behind the bots that were arranging themselves into a flock.
Raven drone. While not as small or agile as other drones, the 4 lb raven drone is currently the most common and is already being used in mass numbers with an estimated 19,000 in the sky already. It is most useful for seeing around corners and sending footage back to its operators. Resembling a model airplane, the Raven apparently crumbles like a pile of Legos when it lands.
What the Drones Could Mean for Your Health
While the drones listed above are shocking enough, the most worrisome of all is the new mosquito drone.
I’ve written before about the unleashing of mutant, genetically engineered mosquitoes, but these mosquito bots are infinitely more concerning.
Mosquito drones are truly an engineering marvel but have the capability to violate your biological rights to a level never before witnessed in human history.
Using a needle-like pincer, mosquito drones have the potential to land on someone to extract DNA or inject tracking devices or drugs without the person’s knowledge or consent.
Software engineer Alan Lovejoy explains:
“Such a device could be controlled from a great distance and is equipped with a camera, microphone. It could land on you and then use its needle to take a DNA sample with the pain of a mosquito bite. Or it could inject a micro RFID tracking device under your skin. It could land on you and stay, so that you take it with you into your home. Or it could fly into a building through a window. There are well-funded research projects working on such devices with such capabilities.”
Would mosquito drones ever be used for such a blatant violation of civil rights? Considering that the government has already shown itself willing to violate the medical rights of its citizens by forcing the use of chemotherapy and other mandated medical procedures, I would say the answer to that question is “most definitely.”
Fortunately, the ability of the human spirit to creatively resist subjugation is always surprising, so no doubt numerous ways will be uncovered to disarm and avoid being violated by these drones as these technologies become more widely used by both public and private enterprises – all in the name of “safety” and “public health”.
Sources: Roaches, Mosquitoes, and Birds: The Coming Micro-Drone Revolution
Disturbing to say the least. Good article though.
You are going far down the rabbit hole now…. no turning back.
Once you are on the outside looking in it is a whole different perspective.
Hummm. Not sure how I feel about this post. My husband flies drones for a living, which provides us with a wonderful life. I no longer have to worry about his safety in the air since he is firmly planted on the ground.
Also I believe if you are a normal boring citizen like myself there is no need to worry about these micro drones. I don’t grow pot in my living room, or make bombs in my bathroom. The government would have to be pretty board to “check” on us with one of these. It would also be a lot cheaper for the government to just order me to vaccinate my son.
My first thought when reading this was about that poor little boy who was taken off the school bus and kept hostage in that under ground bunker. How marvelous it could have been to have a little mosquito fly in there to get surveillance videos and then put some chemical into that nut jobs body to end the stand off.
Unless you’re a terrorist, if your worried about this in your own life then I think you think way too highly of yourself.
dont be to sure your safe! End times!
Mo,
That’s exactly how things progress to dictatorship, totalitarianism and oppression (in whatever form). People are thankful for jobs, and they assume that it’s only to regulate bad people. Power and money have always led society to oppression, and adding technology like this in is very concerning.
A person must look down the road to see potential for abuse in order to see where it could go. Our naive society is not capable of discretionary supervision of g0vernment management of technology, liberty-stripped legislation and/or money supply. Part of this is because it is too big and powerful, and there is no transparency.
Please refer to history for the path the US is on; it’s been done before.
Anthony
you don’t have to be doing anything unlawful, it matters not they might just not like your looks, your ideas, or your opinions, they are interested in control not in preventing terrorism, pretty soon, most wont’ believe me but the governement in the united nations will turn on false religion (babylon the great the empire of false religion) and destory all supporters close the churches and turn on perfectly innocent people who are no threat ot the goverment, they have a totally different agenda then you and me, in fact they are being manevered to unify to destroy babylon the great and are not even aware of it. but that would be along post to explain that. i am not breaking any laws and mind my own business yet i don’t trust the government or corporations or wealthy people of the world for as far as I can throw an elephant since they lie most of the time. and they hide behind color of law to do what they do too.those who are honest in government are unable to turn the tide either despite good intentions andwe all know about good intentions don’t we?
Stalin once said “If you take a chicken and pluck all of its feathers, but conditon it with feed — he will love you nonetheless” (paraphrased). My great grandfather died in a labor camp in the Siberian TAGA bc of this wicked mindset. And my grandfather &father were born in a labor camp in result of it. God saved my family and brought us to this Nation. And now it’s being torn apart. Wake up!!
Svetlana, Good point. God bless you and your family and continue to believe. You are obviously strong and God fearing people. 🙂
I had a large drone fly over the trailer my Mama lives in about 12:30 am one night and I wish I had took my video camera to the window when I looked out. It had no propellers or I couldn’t see them and it sounded like it had electric motors. I write lots of emails and letters to my congress and senate leaders about subjects ranging from raw milk to medical cannabis, hemp and guns and how they knew I stayed with my elderly mama and looked after her at night, doesn’t really surprise me. This was a large drone and it had a searchlight on the nose of the plane and one on each side and they were looking for what, I don’t know. Spooky…Those mosquito drones frighten me more than the predator drones. The predator drones could fire a hellfire missile or an incendiary device and it would be written off as an unfortunate fire or gas explosion. But, if those mosquito drones can remove DNA and other blood samples, they can also inject poisons or viruses like aids. I never have trusted the government and I never will.
Horrific. Astounding. Where do we draw the line??? I’m appalled. Technology may well be the end of us…
Ugh…Why can’t these people just leave the human race alone? It’s like they are OBSESSED with control.
I know what you mean, it seems that there are people who are convinced they are gods or something and should rule over others and their views and opinions should be made laws and enforced against everyone else, it is history repeating itself again, this time not only do they have the ambition now they have the technology that rulers in times past did not have,making it virtually impossible to escape their cages. at leastin the past you could dissappear and continue life without them knowing where you were at.
Super fascinating. Not only is the invasion of privacy and violation of civil rights frightening, but the possibility of using these mosquito bots for biological warfare.
Absolutely amazing. That mosquito drone is the coolest thing I’ve ever seen…. with the potential of being the scariest thing I’ve ever seen. What kind of world is our children and grandchildren inheriting?!
Sarah,
Thanks so much for the article.
Sarah,
You always amaze me with the breadth and depth of content on your blog. Wow! and Yikes!!!!