Spy Stuff

Remember the scene in INDEPENDENCE DAY when Jeff Goldblum places a satellite like dish on the roof of his dad’s car and triangulates the signal of his wife’s cellphone to determine where she was in the White House? His dad asks him how he can do that and he replies “all cable repair men know how to do this, pop.” Well, the Hi-Gain USB Wireless-300N Dish Adapter from Hawking Technologies won’t triangulate a signal in the White House, but it will boost weak WiFi signals in areas where a signal isn’t very strong to begin with.

Read the rest of this entry »

3 Comments »

Back in 06 we reported on the ESG Gryphon Personal Flying Wing, and it had military applications written all over it, or, a cool opening scene to the next James Bond Flick. The latest version, rechristened the Gryphon Attack Glider by SPELLCO (the new company name), has slimmed down the weight by 30 pounds and also offers the ability to carry up to 100 pounds of onboard gear and even carry weapons hard points for mini missiles and bombs. Yowsa. And with a maximum glide speed of 135 MPH, that makes this not only an attack glider, but a serious special ops platform for attacking well behind enemy lines.

Read the rest of this entry »

4 Comments »

Aeryon Labs of Waterloo has released the Aeryon Scout, a brand new invention which is still in its prototype stage. Four connected foam rings, each 30cm in diameter with a rotor inside make up the Aeryon Scout. A camera is hidden in its underbelly, where a “quadrotor” is controlled by a remote control and can fly into places where it’s too difficult, dangerous or time-consuming for ordinary folk to go and snap a few shots. I suppose police and the military will find this useful, and so would the paparazzi.

Source: New Launches

3 Comments »

There’s a sweet scene in Star Wars: Clone Wars where Arc Troopers are assaulting a city. Not knowing where the bad droids are, the commander tosses up a floating ball-like camera platform and sends it out on a recon mission. The result is a birds eye view of every nook and cranny where an ambush could happen. A sweet idea that could have great uses in today’s techno efficient military, police surveillance, or even search and rescue. That’s a similar idea behind the Aeryon Scout, fly in the air and give a real time birds eye view via live wireless video feed.

Read the rest of this entry »

2 Comments »

ConnectVu is a CCTV system which allows you to monitor video from CCTV cameras on your mobile. If your mobile phone is capable of GPRS, GSM or 3G then you will be able to access, and control the CCTV cameras over the air. The software is Java, so a compatible phone would have to be used. By moving control of the CCTV cameras to your mobile phone, it allows you to track security where ever you are. The software on the phone allows you to switch between 16 different cameras and control where the cameras are pointing to allow you to get a better shot of who is breaking in to your premises.

Read the rest of this entry »

1 Comment »

Picture this: A mugger points a gun at a lady and gives her the “your money or your life” line. The lady opens her purse, and takes out her lipstick, presumably to get to her billfold. She then gives the mugger a real shock as her lipstick delivers him a charge of 350,000 volts!

Welcome to the age of the Lipstick Stun Gun. Not only can this 3-inch device deliver all that aforementioned voltage, but it comes in many shades and colors. Now a lady can feel safe and fashion-conscious at the same time. Perhaps the latest fad amongst females will be Lipstick Stun Gun parties instead of Taser Parties.

The kit comes with some accessories, including a safety pin, lanyard, and a charger. The Lipstick Stun Gun can also be used as a flashlight, which could come in handy for all sorts of situations.

Read the rest of this entry »

7 Comments »

Ah, Honeywell, thank you for the gift of hovering spy drones so we can always have someone to watch over us.

Yes, that image you see isn’t a prop from a 1984 movie (which would still be timely, by the way), but a spy drone that can fly a 100 waypoint flight plan at 57 MPH, at a 10,500 foot altitude.

Apparently, these Micro Air Vehicles (MAVs) are already in place over Iraq and Afghanistan, which are hopefully watching out for enemies. They are waiting for FAA permission to be used here in American soil.

According to Reuters, the Miami-Dade police department hopes to deploy these MAV guys “soon”. I was kind of hoping that we would see these flying eyes later rather than sooner, honestly. Read the rest of this entry »

5 Comments »

I suppose that the military has been looking for more remotely piloted aircrafts since the MQ-1 Predator, and it appears they have been going to colleges for their next one. They have given the University of Michigan a $10 million dollar grant to come up with a “six-inch robotic spy plane modeled after a bat”.

I don’t know if the picture to the left here is their prototype, but you have to admit that it certainly looks neat. Not only is the COM-BAT (it’s official name?) designed for reconnaissance, but the military wants it to “gathers data from sights, sounds and smells in urban combat zones and transmit information back to a soldier in real time”.

Read the rest of this entry »

5 Comments »