Next time you see that cute hummingbird outside your window, take a closer look....

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Fab1b's avatar

Fab1b

The Bald A-Hole!!

12,949 posts
Feb 28, 2011 6:08 PM
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110228/ap_on_re_us/us_hummingbird_drone
SAN DIEGO – You'll never look at hummingbirds the same again. The Pentagon is pouring millions of dollars into the development of tiny drones inspired by biology, each equipped with video and audio equipment that can record sights and sounds.

They could be used to spy, but also to locate people inside earthquake-crumpled buildings and detect hazardous chemical leaks.

The smaller, the better.
Don't worry though Gibby, your basement doesn't have windows so they can't spy on you!! :)

Actually pretty cool the thought of them being able to fly through rubble to search for survivors of disasters. I'm sure these have been around though alot longer than we could imagine and used of course for spying.
Feb 28, 2011 6:08pm
bases_loaded's avatar

bases_loaded

Senior Member

6,912 posts
Feb 28, 2011 7:08 PM
It will be used .009% for rubble and gas leak searches and 99.991% on spying on the American people
Feb 28, 2011 7:08pm
justincredible's avatar

justincredible

Nick Mangold

32,056 posts
Feb 28, 2011 7:15 PM
bases_loaded;695121 wrote:It will be used .009% for rubble and gas leak searches and 99.991% on spying on the American people

Yap.
Feb 28, 2011 7:15pm
M

mella

Senior Member

647 posts
Feb 28, 2011 9:58 PM
I guess there must be a union behind this waste of taxpayer money. No other entity could watse money like this!
Feb 28, 2011 9:58pm
Mulva's avatar

Mulva

Senior Member

13,650 posts
Feb 28, 2011 11:09 PM
I'll just start taking a tennis racket to every hummingbird I see. Problem solved.
Feb 28, 2011 11:09pm
hoops23's avatar

hoops23

Senior Member

15,696 posts
Feb 28, 2011 11:21 PM
Mulva;695437 wrote:I'll just start taking a tennis racket to every hummingbird I see. Problem solved.

LOL.

I'm guessing if you actually hit one, you know it wasn't a real hummingbird.
Feb 28, 2011 11:21pm
D

Dthane

Senior Member

169 posts
Feb 28, 2011 11:30 PM
Did you ever get a real one in your house? We had one fly in our garage about ten years ago. I am not sure they are the smartest birds in the world......hey.....wait a minute.....that must have been a government one. No wonder it took it a half an hour to fly out of the 16 foot wide garage door opening...he was taking more pictures of my golf equipment! They are just telling about these. I am sure they have bats, dragonflies, etc that also can do the job.
Feb 28, 2011 11:30pm
tk421's avatar

tk421

Senior Member

8,500 posts
Feb 28, 2011 11:36 PM
I wonder what the penalty will be for destroying one of these? The FBI visited some guy just for finding a GPS tracker on his car, imagine what the government would do when you destroy one of these million dollar hummingbirds.
Feb 28, 2011 11:36pm
ptown_trojans_1's avatar

ptown_trojans_1

Moderator

7,632 posts
Mar 1, 2011 11:57 AM
ccrunner609;695115 wrote:yeah we need to spend tax dollars on this

Yep, if it is a means to obtain reliable intelligence for quick action for the military, I'm all for it. Imagine this in Pakistan humming around obtaining info on the Haqqani network or finding a terrorist.
Sounds pretty sweet if you ask me.
Mar 1, 2011 11:57am
O-Trap's avatar

O-Trap

Chief Shenanigans Officer

14,994 posts
Mar 1, 2011 11:59 AM
ptown_trojans_1;695788 wrote:Yep, if it is a means to obtain reliable intelligence for quick action for the military, I'm all for it. Imagine this in Pakistan humming around obtaining info on the Haqqani network or finding a terrorist.
Sounds pretty sweet if you ask me.
Are hummingbirds native to Pakistan? If not, I'm thinking something else should be used.
Mar 1, 2011 11:59am
ptown_trojans_1's avatar

ptown_trojans_1

Moderator

7,632 posts
Mar 1, 2011 4:41 PM
O-Trap;695789 wrote:Are hummingbirds native to Pakistan? If not, I'm thinking something else should be used.

Oh, I'm sure the technology can be transferred and applied to other birds that are native to different sections of the world.
I'd also say, the technology can be used just to create a drone that could hover out of sight to obtain information.

This sort of minds me of the Bob Woodward mention that a small, new type of drone, helped turn the tide in Iraq.
Mar 1, 2011 4:41pm
O-Trap's avatar

O-Trap

Chief Shenanigans Officer

14,994 posts
Mar 1, 2011 5:09 PM
ptown_trojans_1;696142 wrote:Oh, I'm sure the technology can be transferred and applied to other birds that are native to different sections of the world.
I'd also say, the technology can be used just to create a drone that could hover out of sight to obtain information.

This sort of minds me of the Bob Woodward mention that a small, new type of drone, helped turn the tide in Iraq.
I think insects would be the only other option, as I can't think of another creature that can hover still enough in the air to get a feed or video from which anything can be gathered that isn't an insect and isn't a hummingbird.

I'm thinking you're right about something that basically stays out of sight.
Mar 1, 2011 5:09pm
V

vball10set

paying it forward

24,795 posts
Mar 1, 2011 5:51 PM
BBIWY :cool:
Mar 1, 2011 5:51pm
password's avatar

password

Senior Member

2,360 posts
Mar 1, 2011 8:36 PM
Are they waterproof?
Mar 1, 2011 8:36pm