The US military and industry are developing "bugs" of the electro-mechanical kind. Small gizmos, derived from model radio controlled cars and planes, capable of scouting ahead and reporting back via radio (including satellite) are now buzzing Pentagon corridors as they undergo testing. Known as Micro Airborne Vehicles (MAVs) these minature flyers are pioneering new realms of flight.

Micro Unmanned Airborne Vehicle Depending on your screen dimensions, this is approximately the size of one MAV version under development. (5cm span) This has already flown in larger model version and is now undergoing the miniaturisation process. Guidance will be a combination of programmable GPS, autopilot (using three axis electronic gyroscopes,) with "pilot" override via data link. Surveillance will be a composite video system capable of integrating several modes including daylight TV, IR, (passive and active) and low light level TV. Power will be batteries or microturbine. Versions of this model with 30cm wingspans have already flown and developers see no major technical problems in achieving a 5cm span. Ultimate goal of these MAV projects is to create flying surveillance chips.

Fantasy? During the Vietnam war, pilots depended on a survival radio known as the URC-10. This was a UHF transceiver about the size of a paperback novel, plus an equal sized battery pack. This technology can now be contained in a wrist watch (which also tells the time ...) so adding motorised wheels, a guidance system and video channel isn't all that dfficult. The results are miniature, mobile bugs, which can fly walk or crawl. (some can do all three) The new generation under development aims to produce bugs the size of bugs...ie that cockroach you see clambering around the kitchen might have a Pentium within. Micro-miniaturisation is here now.

Microchips have seen what fitted in a shoebox just ten years back, reduced to button size. A good example are video cameras - a quick search of the web will come up with dozens of miniature color cameras and transmitters which sell for under one hundred dollars - so imagine what a half decent R & D budget will get you. There's also the problem of power - sure that nicad stack powering your kids r/c car packs some grunt, but nicads are yesterday's technology. They're heavy and low powered compared to the new exotic metal batteries now being released. Lithium hydride, silver hyrdroxide, the list is growing. These batteries are capable of putting out fifty times the power of nicads per unit weight. There's also mini-fuel cells and solar power - both of which promise greatly increased efficiencies in the future.

The Mesicopter. Looking like a Ninja star-knife, MAVs of this type are expected to be developed using silicon chip fabrication technology. Power by electric micromoters the entire "machine" would be fabricated largely of silicon and powered by chemical batteries. A throw-away item, it would contain GPS nav, plus a multi-spectrum video camera, with satellite up-down link capabilty. Size is that of a twenty cent piece.

Even more promising are lightweight power generators. Under development is a miniature gas turbine the size of a bottle cap. Powered by butane, this silicon microturbine will spin at over a million rpm and generate electricity via an alternator the diameter of a five cent piece. Contained in a sealed package, this tiny dynamo promises designers a means of providing power for extended periods - making electric aircraft with 10cm wingspans and twenty four hour endurance a reality.

Even smaller. Because silicon is a material that can be shaped with precision - the smaller the more accurately the component can be made - it's perfect for "hot-end" applications. Using techniques similar to those used to build microchips, developers are suggesting that within ten years, the button battery in your wristwatch will instead be a butane fueled microturbine which would run for ten years without the need to top up the tank. With durations of this magnitude it's possible to design applications which use more power for shorter periods. This means that an aspirin sized turbine power pack would be ideal for a short duration, high energy application such as a flying surveillance drone the size of a humming bird.

Hover-glider. Folding auxiliary wings (which also serve as antennaes and landing gear) allow this vehicle to fit into a neat launch package. With a duct diameter of only 20 cm, versions are flying now

The infantry commander of the near future. A grunt's life can be a miserable one, especially when someone's shooting at you. The ongoing problem has been - what's around the corner, or what's beyond that obstacle? With mini-recon vehicles - either airborne, or land crawlers, it will be possible to see round the corner, over the ridge or across a river. The low cost of these tiny marvels looks like making them readily available at platoon level.

Manufacturers are predicting that surveillance vehicles will come down to aspirin dimensions within twenty years. Already pill-sized electric-fan powered flyers are being designed complete with navigation and video systems. These will be able to deployed by simply being thrown in the direction needed to reconoiter, their guidance system taking over, powering up the drive, allowing the mini vehicles to hover away and do their job.The problem of course will be that these devices are so small, that they'll tend to get confused with other items...