China has unveiled a tiny, terrifying mosquito-sized drone designed specifically for ‘special missions’.
Could this be the future of spying? A clip of the miniature drone was published online by the Chinese state media, which shows scientists holding up the bot.
Experts have said that this new drone will be able to perform various activities, both military and civilian.
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However, there have been some fears around how easily these devices can sneak into private areas and listen in on potentially sensitive conversations.
It has also been said by experts that these drones are expected to be much quieter than larger ones, so they have the potential to go undetected by onlookers.
The drones also bear a striking resemblance to an insect, with realistic-looking wings alongside a small body and legs.
Speaking to the Telegraph, Sam Bresnick, who is a research fellow at Georgetown’s Centre for Security and Emerging Technology, said: “If China is able to produce mosquito-sized drones, it would likely be interested in using them for various intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tasks, especially in places that larger drones struggle to access, such as indoor areas.
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“These drones could be used to track individuals or listen in on conversations.”
The unveiling of these drones has sparked fears that they could pose a serious threat to national security, especially if they get into the wrong hands.
Speaking to The Sin, Tracey Follows, who is an author and an ex-Google futurist, said: “In time, one expects a drone to have the situational awareness to carry out an attack autonomously without a human in the loop.
“The big question is what's the payload on these drones, what are you actually attaching to the drone?”
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“Increasingly, over the last four or five years, I've been reading about viruses and how you can potentially attach a pathogen to these sorts of weapons.
“So not only can you identify somebody personally, you can then attack them with a virus, for example."
This isn’t the only tech news coming from China recently, after the country shocked the world by revealing it was moving a 100-year-old building by using over 400 tiny robots.
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The small bots are powered by hydraulics and can move the building up to 32 feet a day.
In a press release from the local government in Shanghai, it said: “The project has attracted attention not least due to the dense layout of historic structures, including Zhangyuan’s great hall, a 1928 building that once housed a night school for patriotic education in the 1940s, leaving little room for renovation or underground development."
Sometimes, bigger isn't always better.