Posted on 06/10/2006 1:05:54 PM PDT by strategofr
For the last ten years, development of "smart dust" has moved right along. "Smart Dust" is basically very miniaturized electronic devices. This is similar to stuff like RFID, smart cards, EZ Pass and those rice grain size tracking devices you can have injected into your pets.
But Smart Dust takes this all to a new level by being small enough to be disguised as dirt, the kind you can pick up in your shoes or clothing. Each bit of Smart Dust can be given a unique serial number that, when hit with an "interrogation signal" from troops on the ground, or aircraft overhead, is broadcast back. Some forms of Smart Dust are believed to be in use in Iraq and Afghanistan.
It's also believed that Smart Dust played a role in the recent death of al Qaeda leader Abu Musab al Zarqawi. In this case, if someone were able to sprinkle some Smart Dust on Zarqawi's clothing, it would have been a simple matter to track him with great precision. Iraqis have already heard of this stuff, but regard it more as "magic dust." Iraqis have a tendency to exaggerate American capabilities, especially when it comes to technology. But U.S. troops have learned to use this exaggerated reputation to their advantage, threatening Iraqis with magical capabilities that don't exist. That often works, just like smart dust.
Shrinking the size of RFID stuff is limited to the size
of the antenna. The chip itself is tiny but it's not
effective to send and receive outside a few inches
without an antenna. That's why the tags on your shaving
cream looks like either a square patch or a strip.
"Magic dust" sounds more like the radioactive dust tracking the Soviets used to do.
Did they sprinkle some on a DNC newsletter and leave it where Zark could find it?
Smart Dust my as*. Some people would like to believe anything. If we had this we would have used it on the WMDs. I believed that our Government had super human technologies but that was before we found out the WMDs just disappeared right before our Government's eyes.
"We can recognize a man's face form outer space, and tell exactly who he is." "WOW" say to self.
What a joke.What a let down.
Come on!
Thanks for telling the enemy, strategy page.
21st century 6, 7th century 0.
Here's my favorite secret weapon.
"I suppose it's possible, but to my knowledge, smart dust still suffers from two problems that limit its effectiveness: power and range."
Thank you for your knowledgeable response. While I know less than you, I know enough about the technology to have had some skepticism in the back of my mind when I posted this article. Reading your response strongly crystallizes the vague feelings I had about it.
"Smart Dust Ping List
If you want on or off this ping list, it's too bad. We're tracking you anyways."
Funny!....and not
Relax. It's total BS.
RFID technology on these scales fails over a distance of a few inches.
Next, we will read about a "Nanotech" IPO that coincidentally does this.
It was a slow afternoon, and there was some really good pot going around.
Yes, but...there are ways around that, or at least ways to utilize the RFID technology within the boundaries of its limitations.
For example, even though it would definitely be useful to track someone no matter were they go, at any time, how is this for a scenario.
You have RFID on someone in a known broad area, you can set up detectors at key points in and out (kind of like we did with the SOSUS system with Soviet Submarines) such as roads leading into and out of large urban areas.
Hey, let's stop those primitive IED's and then we can be oohing and ahhing.
Oh the humanity. God help our troops if this happens.
Good point.
Just like pixie dust...code name Tinkerbell?
Yet another strat page piece of non-sense. Pure speculative BS.
I think the "Smart Dust" thing is BS as well, but there are some sneaky things on the horizion:
Rock Sensors
http://www.primidi.com/2005/05/28.html
Personally, I have already seen prototypes of fist sized surveillance cameras that can be thrown like a baseball into a building, cave or other location, automatically right itself and transmit images back to the thrower.
How long before they can be made to crawl or fly? This dust thing sounds like BS, but look at what the military is openly using, small RPV's with cameras that can be used on the front line to see what is over the next ridge, etc. The USMC is already using them. That would have been outlandish a few years back.
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