[NetBehaviour] US military ‘rocks’ spy world

[marc]

*US military ‘rocks’ spy world*
By Jeremy Grant in Chicago


The US military is developing miniature electronic sensors disguised as 
rocks that can be dropped from an aircraft and used to help detect the 
sound of approaching enemy combatants.

The devices, which would be no larger than a golf ball, could be ready 
for use in about 18 months. They use tiny silicon chips and radio 
frequency identification (RFID) technology that is so sensitive that it 
can detect the sound of a human footfall at 20ft to 30ft. The project is 
being carried out by scientists at North Dakota State University, which 
has licensed nano-technology processes from Alien Technology, a 
California-based commercial manufacturer of RFID tags for supermarkets.

It is an example of the increasing desire for the US military to 
co-operate with civilian industry and academic institutions in the 
development of battlefield technology that will reduce the risks to 
soldiers' lives. Greg McCarthy, associate vice president at the 
university's Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering, said: "The 
military wants better sensing capability. People are being killed 
because someone's sneaking up on a tent and blowing them up."

“We've got some very realistic looking artificial rocks and stuck 
sensors in them,” he said. The military is already working with Detroit 
carmakers on the development of counter-terrorism and kidnap rescue 
vehicles. The new sensors would be made cheaply enough to be left on the 
ground without need for retrieval by soldiers. RFID technology uses 
radio signals that are sent from a silicon chip to a remote sensing device.

more...
http://news.ft.com/cms/s/35bae060-ce20-11d9-9a8a-00000e2511c8.html
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