The newest incarnation of the drone used by the military or law enforcement industry for surveillance will be taking on new if not mystical capability. According to the late Phillip Schneider, a former federal geological contractor who testified to advanced underground tunneling by the military along with the existence of a hostile subterranean alien threat that he not only witnessed but was nearly killed by, the US military maintains a 45 year head start over technological advancements of the civilian market. The invention of MEMS (microelectronic mechanical systems) seems more than ever to bear that out.

As a benefit

Scientists long ago fantasized about microscopic machines that could be introduced intravenously into the body to surgically repair the human biology . MEMs could be used to remove tumors, repair soft tissue injuries like ruptured tendons, even replace defective heart valves or deteriorating retinas. Sadly though a sinister application for the use of MEMs has been advocated for the use of surveillance purposes. Such devices will have incredible potential as miniaturized apparatus and robotic use as well.

To spy

Think of a device that operates almost perfectly as a dragonfly or wasp used to eavesdrop on drug cartel meetings. Imagine a taxi cab driver seated in a vehicle at the curb maintaining watch over a suspected terrorist operation in a suburb. An elderly old woman moving slowly on the sidewalk, in actuality, a surveillance drone! We already know of smart street lamps that can listen and record conversations. We know of high and low altitude military craft that can loiter at altitudes rendering them invisible to those on the ground that can deliver missiles or even carry out surgical assassinations by executing a single individual. The possibilities have transformed from being miraculous to very disturbing as the police state emerges upon us.

Unknown intruders

An owl in a tree, a pigeon at a park, even a squirrel clinging to the trunk of a tree or perhaps scurrying to a new position for better recording, all are in some form being used or at the very least being explored. We already have some drones actually delivering products to retail buyers from the business right to the customer's doorstep but new FCC and FAA regulations will have to be put in place as a drone crossing an airport or at a low level might end up causing an air disaster if sucked into a jet engine just as bird strikes have caused crashes.

Reducing dangers?

Modern technology of the drone will soon obviate the need for human pilots on supersonic fighter jets and attack bombers as in extremely risky missions a human life would be more valuable than losing a piece of hardware, but don't count on any humanitarian consideration by the military as it may end up being that the loss of high tech hardware could outweigh an expendable human life just as well! The danger just as in the self driving cars running over pedestrians is just how much can the autonomous capability of artificially intelligent machines operate on their own independently and be capable enough to operate in a complex environment where people, natural obstacles, and other machines are all present?

Countermeasures

Already, we have tech savvy individuals developing ways of countering drones by jamming them with microwaves, delivering a wireless virus, or disrupting the command signal from the source and perhaps taking control of the drone away from the owner of the surveillance device. Although the use of these machines could be very precious in terms of precise intelligence gathering equally concerning is the widespread use of such technology in everyday society for civilian as well as law enforcement or military deployment. We are already wrapped in a sea of radio waves, micro waves, scanning by office devices, RF chips in credit cards, wireless ID devices in cars, not to mention radio and TV transmissions. It seems further developments will become stifling.

As an engineering aid

MEMs can be literally sprinkled over the land to measure movement on a seismic level, the expansion and contraction of a bridge structure or building giving out constant data. So the use of MEMs could predict ongoing structural problems that could lead to an untimely collapse. Land movement might alert residents to a coming earthquake or volcanic eruption. An employer could just as easily monitor the actions of employees to assess their level of production and even theft. Although these developments seem to be far off into the future they may very well be already in use.