Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
'New' Israeli Bionic Hornet Concept Is 70 Years Old
Bionic hornets? According to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Israel is developing a nanotechnology-based "bionic hornet" no bigger than an insect. This weaponized bug would be able to chase, photograph and kill targets, easily maneuvering in urban landscapes. Very futuristic - not.
Frankly, if you are going to spend your time reading what amounts to science-fictional claims relating to 'bionic hornets' - there won't even be prototypes for three years - you might as well read the real story.
In his excellent 1936 short story The Scarab, science fiction writer Raymond Z. Gallun describes exactly what the Israelis seem to want.
...With a buzz that any uninformed person would have mistaken for that of a beetle, it started out on its journey...
...the Scarab buzzed into the great workroom as any intruding insect might, and sought the security of a shadowed corner. There it studied its surroundings, transmitting to its manipulator, far away now, all that it heard through its ear microphones and saw with its minute vision tubes.
The Scarab also had the ability to deliver a soporific "sting" upon command. Note also that the Scarab is right on top of the latest trends, including wireless power (see Wireless Power For Laptops, Cellphones?).
Why would Israel, which possesses the most powerful military in the region, want tiny weapons? "The war in Lebanon proved that we need smaller weaponry. It's illogical to send a plane worth $100 million against a suicidal terrorist. So we are building futuristic weapons," Prime Minister Shimon Peres said.
As long as the Israelis are developing their 'bionic hornet' specification, they might as well read the literature:
The Scarab paused on its perch for a moment, as if to determine for itself whether it was perfectly fit for action. It was a tiny thing, scarcely more than an inch and a half in length...
(Read more about the Scarab flying insect robot)
And they should take a look at the current development efforts:
From Jeff Noon's Nymphomation (2000); these are the perfect disinformation and propaganda devices.
From Karen Travis' City of Pearl (2004); this is just what you want for autonomous surveillance.
From Neal Stephenson's The Diamond Age (1995), these tiny devices kept a watch on the borders.
This story has been repeated in various places, with the same very skimpy facts. Some sites erroneously report that Israel already has one of these. Reuters is as good a source as any.
DARPA says that "hopping and swimming insects could also meet final demonstration goals.
Robot cockroaches (or "robo-roaches") are making friends fast - and influencing their behavior.
Why not let real insects have a part in this? They can certainly do the driving.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 11/19/2006)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 5 )
Related News Stories - (" Robotics ")
Humanoid Boxing Robot KO's Opponent - It's A Knockout!
'Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines.' - Aldo Giunta, 1957
Students Vie For Lunar Regolith Mining Robot Prize
'About time you got here,' the astronaut said. - Pournelle and Niven, 1981.
Robot Hand Creeps Along, Separate From It's Owner
'The crawling... object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...' - Philip K. Dick, 1955.
Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On
'Better late than never.'
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Robotic Barber Programmed With a Number of Styles
'He found a barber shop which, he thought, would be good for an idle hour.'
Humanoid Boxing Robot KO's Opponent - It's A Knockout!
'Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines.'
Caterpillar Electric Mining Loader Not Yet Ready For Moon
'...the excavations were already in progress, for he saw gray slopes of rubble.'
Centipede Robots Down On The Farm
'...the walking mills of Puffy Products began to tread delicately on their centipede legs across the wheat fields of Kansas.'
Anthropic's Claude AI Creates Legal Citation From Whole Cloth
'Here is a Clerk that would work incessantly, and neither eat, sleep, want payment, or grumble.'
Students Vie For Lunar Regolith Mining Robot Prize
'About time you got here,' the astronaut said.
'They Erased My Memory' Says Ariana Grande
'...using a neutralizing electronic impulse.'
Solitary Black Hole Wanders In Space
'...the Hole is something like a vortex or a whirlpool?'
Spaceplane From Virgin Atlantic
'ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!'
DARPA Wants 'Large Bio-Mechanical Space Structures'
'These are your rudimentary seed packages... Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures.'
Robot Hand Creeps Along, Separate From It's Owner
'The crawling... object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
Taikonauts Exercise In China's Tiangong Space Station
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...'
Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On
'Better late than never.'
Have AI Researchers Given Up On 'Bio-Babies'?
'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'
Bunker Busters and Bore-Pellets
'The first revelation of the new Soviet bore-pellets.'
'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'
