spy
Gadgets
16 Tricked Out Gadget Suitcases
5:30AM Sean Fallon | The folks at OObject have put together a list of 16 gadget suitcases that can handle any situation a super spy may find himself in. Spy transmitter suitcase? Check. Spy kitchen suitcase? You bet. Spy kayak suitcase? Definitely (that one always comes in handy). Spy suitcase nuke? Well…sort of. Hit the link to check out the entire list. [OObject] More »
Toys
Spy Kite Flies High to Capture Low Blows
1:15AM Mark Wilson | Any child older than seven knows that there are times when ground surveillance just won’t do. And while we’re waiting for the best airborne military concepts to be democratised to our Wal-mart toy aisle, we’ll have to settle on the Spy Kite. This “high performance” fiberglass-framed kite packs a digital camera capable of taking shots from 24 metres in the air. More »
Gadgets
Every Taxi in Beijing Bugged With GPS-Tagging Microphone For Instant Surveillance
11:30PM John Mahoney | If you’re in Beijing for the Olympics kick starting this weekend, don’t be spilling any beans (state secrets or otherwise) in your cab back to the hotel, because you’re being listened to. As the WSJ is reporting, on your taxi’s dash is a microphone that can be activated remotely, at any time and without the driver’s knowledge, for a live listen into any one of Beijing’s estimated 70,000 cabs. And then, if the folks on the other end don’t like what they hear, they can take things even further. More »
Gadgets
Bluetooth Two-Way Earpiece Communicators Reviewed (Verdict: Spy Movie Fun at 75 Metres Or Less)
9:00AM Jack Loftus | Like many geeks, the New York Times’ David Pogue watches movies, like the Bourne Supremacy or Mission: Impossible, and yearns for the wireless earpiece tech they use to communicate with their buddies without microphones, headsets or mobile phones. He’s right, they’re cool, and recently he had the chance to review two consumer versions, the SM100 (SoundID.com, US$86), and the Dragon V2 (CallPod.com, US$100). The final verdict? Both are *really* just average yuppie Bluetooth earpieces like the ones you see stuck in people’s ears on the subway. The catch, however, is that with the press of a button, they become “secret-agent two-way radios.” More »
Gadgets
Spy Glasses Set International Espionage to Your Very Own Soundtrack
11:45PM Mark Wilson | What’s better than stealing highly guarded secrets through your special digital camera glasses? How about stealing said secrets to AC/DC’s Night Prowler? An otherwise gaudy but inconspicuous set of Oakley Thump knockoffs, these Spy Camera+MP3 Sunglasses capture shots through a wireless shutter control–1.3MP photos saved in 2GB of storage–and they play your favourite MP3s for up to 6 hours through the rechargeable lithium ion battery. If only these were around when we were ten, oh the parliament buildings we could have pretended to infiltrate. US$165. [brando] More »
Gadgets
DelFly Micro Dragonfly Is Smallest Creepy Autonomous Spybot Yet
9:20AM John Mahoney | We told you the tiny DelFly II robotic dragonfly spy cam was just the beginning, and we were right. The same Dutch roboticist is now unveiling the DelFly Micro–with a wingspan of just 10cm and a weight of 3.07 grams, it’s the first to be smaller than an actual real-life dragonfly. Granted, the dragonfly being used for comparison is Borneo’s Tetracanthagyna plagiata, which has a frankly horrifying 20cm wingspan–the largest in the world, no less. But still, now you’re even less likely to realise those annoying bugs whizzing around during your protest march are actually just autonomous insectoid ornithopters keeping an eye on you–nothing to worry about. See it take to the air, complete with live eye-in-the-sky video feed, below. More »
Gadgets
Research UAV is Preview of Hovering Spy Drones of Tomorrow
12:40AM Gizmodo US Edition | Meet STARMAC, the Stanford Testbed of Autonomous Rotorcraft for Multi-Agent Control. Possibly the cleverest remote control mini-helicopter you’ve ever seen, packed with GPS, sensors and computer power. It’s a research quad-rotor that the Stanford team is using to develop algorithms for future aircraft like it. More »
Cameras
$20,000 Spy Camera Disguised as Garbage Thrown Out With The Trash
8:40AM Sean Fallon | A spy camera hidden in a black back beside a notorious UK “fly-tipping” (or illegal waste dumping in the King’s English) hot spot was recently thrown out by local workers with the other garbage. Apparently, this operation was so top secret that the workers in question did not need to know the details before being sent off to pick up the trash. To make matters worse, the camera has been valued at somewhere between US$14 and US$20,000. Basically, its just a hilarious waste of taxpayer money illustrated using equally hilarious British terminology. [Telegraph via Digg] More »
Vehicles
Voyeur Security Drone is For Spying At Sea, Not at Your Neighbours
8:09PM Gizmodo US Edition | This helicopter mini-drone has been developed by the Navy to help it counter water-borne threats, despite its provocatively lurid name. Made by Lite Machines, the battery-powered Voyeur weighs just 1.8kg, stands 70cm high and is actually designed to be suicidal. It’s meant to hop out of sonobuoy tubes, patrol for threats for a while and then sink itself. Much more economical than helicopters or jets wasting fuel by attempting to ID surface targets (has the Navy’s gas bill gone up at the moment too?) Plus it looks waaay more creepily sci-fi. [Danger Room] More »
Science
