Super tracking device

The palm-sized sensors, made for use by the US military, will be spread across the Middle East, to detect anyone nearby who is moving and reporting on remote control centers. far.

>>>Sensors track bonsai

In the past, when armies fought each other, they often left a lot of bombs and mines to kill people when the war ended. Ground-based sensors, also known as UGS , created by US scientists will not undermine it. But they can help the Pentagon do the monitoring of the area that was formerly a battlefield after American forces returned to their homeland.

'We will leave a lot of special equipment in Afghanistan. These devices are easily mixed with underground rock, which can help monitor a village without disturbance , " said Matt Plyburn, managing director of Lockheed Martin, the world's largest military contractor. .

The tracking device is easily confused with the rock or hidden in the rock hole. (Source: Wired)

The US military used sensors on the ground since 1966, when US forces installed sound detection devices on Ho Chi Minh Road. Thousands of UGS devices were sprayed across Afghanistan and Iraq, creating a network of surveillance around outposts and remote locations. This is the way to monitor the largest area possible with the minimum number of soldiers.

'They can be used to hide dead spaces, areas of interest but cannot be covered by ISR smart monitoring equipment' , Lieutenant Colonel Matt Russel, managing the military program for devices Disguised sensor, said.

UGS devices used to be quite large and bulky, or generate false alarms and age only in days or weeks. The US military has invested $ 200 billion to improve them into small devices like palms and have many years of life. Lookheed calls these 'battlefields and forgotten' systems for 'long-term supervision'.

Moreover, the life expectancy of these sensors can be up to about two decades. When an object cannot be detected or transmitted, the sensors turn off to save battery power. This allows it to remain active for weeks when buried underground. Sensors are placed into the rock cavity equipped with a small solar panel to help the sensor recharge itself. Therefore, this type of device can be located anywhere in the world, and still runs smoothly throughout the night, Plyburn said.

Lockheed Martin has not signed a contract with the US Department of Defense to mass produce these sensors. But Plyburn said the armed forces expressed interest, especially when the system was relatively cheap. Plyburn said that each sensor costs only about $ 1,000, much lower than the $ 80,000 that the military has to pay for a guided projectile.