MAST Microrobots Inspired by Minority Report

Yes, Minority Report–that Tom Cruise flick. Apparently, a collaborative project called the Micro Autonomous Systems and Technology (MAST) Collaborative Technology Alliance is developing spy robots inspired by the said Holloywood movie.

Britain-based BAE Systems is one of the major collaborators for the project. In fact, the company just signed a £19 million deal with the US Army to develop surveillance micro-robots. And these micro-robots are not just ordinary robots–they’re to be designed in the makings of insects, arachnids, and small animals. The first design on the line seems to be the spider which you can see on the picture. Others include bees, geckoes, hummingbirds, and flies among others. And no, they’re not just made to look like these critters, the robots will be made to act and behave like them too. According to the researchers, the first of the lot will probably only be equipped with basic movement abilities and a camera for surveillance. Subsequent models will be equipped with more spy functonalities as the robotic parts become smaller and take less space. Scientists are also reducing energy consumption of the robots for them to be more viable for field use. Not bad. So next time, if you happen to squash a fly and it turns out to be a robot, you’d know someone is spying on you.

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