 |
Anubis Tactical MAV For Time-Sensitive Fleeting Targets
The Anubis Tactical MAV [Micro Air Vehicle] for Time-Sensitive Fleeting Targets is an Aerovironment project intended to produce a small missile that is able to proceed to the area in which its target can be found, loiter until the target is spotted, and then take out the target. It is described as a "non-line-of-sight munition with man-in-the loop target ID with very low collateral damage."
Anubis is apparently a Phase III program, which is military argot for a project that is close to maturity. It apparently is intended to instantiate a truly science-fictional scenario in which a would-be assassin need not even get within miles of his target. Once set into motion, the tiny missile would be able to loiter for short periods of time until the targeted individual appears.
This kind of technology meets Philip K. Dick's highest military standard for weaponry, which he described as N-e weapons in his 1965 novel The Zap Gun. "N-e" stands for "needle-eyefication", a weapon that is so precise it can take out a single individual.
This kind of weapon was called a loitering micro-missile in Philip E. High's 1968 novel Invader on My Back:
Fans of sci-fi movies will also recall the smart bullets, five-inch fire-and-forget self-tracking bullet-missiles from Michael Crichton's 1984 movie Runaway.
...needle-eyeification was the fundamental direction which weapons had been taking for a near half-century. It meant, simply, weapons with the most precise effect conceivable. In theory it was possible to imagine a weapon - as yet untranced of by Mr. Lars himself, still - that would slay one given individual at a given instant at a given intersection at one particular given city in Peep-East. Or in Wes-bloc, for that matter...
(Read more about PKD's Needle-eyeification)
As the troops left the city, the top guns of the leading guilds took a hand, and they knew their business: weapons with curved or variating trajectories, weapons which fired around corners, micro-missiles proceeding at walking pace until within ten feet of the target.
(Smart bullet dissected (see more pics))
"Jack, look at this. The back half is all solid propellant. Valves for directional control ... look, it's all electronic.""You've heard of a bullet that has your name on it. Well, this one really does. And you can program it to go after a specific person."
If you'd like to know what it would feel like to be chased by an Anubis missile, take a look at this excerpt from a well-known sf movie.
From The Register; thanks to Winchell Chung at Project Rho for the tip and a great reference.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 3/5/2010)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 4 )
Related News Stories - (" Weapon ")
Musk's Boring Flamethrower
'Skeletons in tatters. Burned by a flesh gun'- Alfred Bester, 1974.
Poland Starts With 1000 Warmate 'Suicide Drones'
'Royal Security had told the pods to electrocute you or blast you into chum.' - Neal Stephenson, 1995.
TIKAD Armed Drone Ready To Fight
'Each a television eye and a sonic stunner...' - Larry Niven, 1972.
LaWS Laser Can Take Out Rogue Drones
Looks like a weapon for the Runaway squad!
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Current News
Ontario Starts Guaranteed Minimum Income
'Earned by just being born.'
Is There Life In Outer Space? Will We Recognize It?
'The antennae of the Life Detector atop the OP swept back and forth...'
Space Traumapod For Surgery In Spacecraft
' It was a ... coffin, form-fitted to Nessus himself...'
Tesla Augmented Reality Hypercard
'The hypercard is an avatar of sorts.'
A Space Ship On My Back
''Darn clever, these suits,' he murmured.'
Biomind AI Doctor Mops Floor With Human Doctors
'My aim was just not to lose by too much.' - Human Physician participant.
Fuli Bad Dog Robot Is 'Auspicious Raccoon Dog' Bot
Bad dog, Fuli. Bad dog.
Las Vegas Humans Ready To Strike Over Robots
'A worker replaced by a nubot... had to be compensated.'
You'll Regrow That Limb, One Day
'... forcing the energy transfer which allowed him to regrow his lost fingers.'
Elon Musk Seeks To Create 1941 Heinlein Speedster
'The car surged and lifted, clearing its top by a negligible margin.'
Somnox Sleep Robot - Your Sleepytime Cuddlebot
Science fiction authors are serious about sleep, too.
Real-Life Macau or Ghost In The Shell
Art imitates life imitates art.
Has Climate Change Already Been Solved By Aliens?
'I had explained," said Nessus, "that our civilisation was dying in its own waste heat.'
First 3D Printed Human Corneas From Stem Cells
Just what we need! Lots of spare parts.
VirtualHome: Teaching Robots To Do Chores Around The House
'Just what did I want Flexible Frank to do? - any work a human being does around a house.'
Messaging Extraterrestrial Intelligence (METI) Workshop
SF writers have thought about this since the 19th century.
