Scientists and the military often share a common quality: imagination. For example, in "US military 'rocks' spy world," the Financial Times reports that the U. S. military is developing RFID sensors that will be installed in fake little rocks. These 'rocks' which will be the size of golf balls, will be sent from an aircraft and will detect enemies by 'listening' to them from 20 to 30 meters. These sensors should be operational within 18 months and they should be cheap enough to leave them on the battlefield after they completed their tasks. Read more.
RFID is being developed into many areas of use. RFID technology is slowly taking over the use of barcodes in many instances. However, there is still something to be said for using barcodes. Many businesses still utilize barcode printers and barcode readers as a way to manage their inventory. Is using RFID scanners better than barcode scanners? Perhaps, but that is something that has to be decided by the individual.
Here is some information picked from the short Financial Times article.
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."
When looking over a list of men’s names in a foreign language, as of military officers, or of authors who have written on a particular subject, I am reminded once more that there is nothing in a name.... It is as if they had been named by the child’s rigmarole, Iery wiery ichery van, tittle-tol-tan. I see in my mind a herd of wild creatures swarming over the earth, and to each the herdsman has affixed some barbarous sound in his own dialect. The names of men are, of course, as cheap and meaningless as Bose and Tray, the names of dogs.
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
The military don't distribute many images of future technologies. This picture of RFID sensors hidden inside fake rocks comes from this page on Sci-Tech Today (Credit: unknown).
For -- slightly -- more information about this project, you can look at the Center for Nanoscale Science and Engineering (CNSE) site at North Dakota State University (NDSU), and especially to this page about MicroSensor Systems. Here is the introduction.
The MicroSensor Systems program (aka Ultra-Low Power Battlefield Sensor Communication Systems, ULPBSCS), is a Department of Defense funded program. This program built a Center of Excellence (COE) at NDSU devoted to wireless microsensor system research and development and to the production of wireless microsensor systems for dual (military and commercial) needs. A central component of the program is advanced rapid microelectronics fabrication technology transferred to the university from Alien Technology Corporation, for the purpose of microsensor fabrication.
I'm feeling somewhat frustrated not being able to give you more details or illustrations about this interesting concept. So, if you have more information about this project, please post your comments below. Thanks.
Sources: Jeremy Grant, Financial Times, May 26, 2005; and various websites
[I]t is a civil Cowardice to be backward in asserting what you ought to expect, as it is a military Fear to be slow in attacking when it is your Duty.
—Richard Steele (1672–1729)
Related stories can be found in the following categories.
Military Applications
Nanotechnology
RFID
Sensors.