if you build it, they may come — nano-swarm intelligence — Lockheed Martin NAV

 

 

NAV Image from: Gadzooki.com

Tiny Sensors join U.S. security

by: Australia IT

“… Lockheed Martin, the Pentagon‘s top supplier by contract value, is working on a keychain-sized, remote-controlled aerial vehicle designed to collect and transmit data with military and homeland security uses.Resembling the seed of a silver maple tree, the single-winged device would pack in a tiny two-stage rocket thruster along with telemetry, communications, navigation, imaging sensors and a power source.

The nano-air-vehicle (NAV) is designed to carry interchangeable payload modules the size of an aspirin tablet.

It could be used for chemical and biological detection or finding a “needle in a haystack,”according to Ned Allen, chief scientist at Lockheed’s fabled Skunk Works research arm.

Released in organised swarms to fly low over a disaster area, the NAV sensors could detect human body heat and signs of breathing, Allen says.

“‘The NAV swarm can pinpoint the location of survivors, send the data back to the first responders and help concentrate rescue operations where they are most likely to be successful.'”

Article Source: Australia IT

Photo Source: Gadzooki.com