Nothing inconspicuous about a helicopter headed bird. Flash forward in the future, the seasons change, a bird remains the whole time on a power line, and some dock worker says to a co-worker, "hey, that bird is still there. I love that little guy. He's my rock, my constant. I've grown quite fond of his ever watchful eye."
This is a clever device, though. It uses induction cause by the alternating current in power lines run through a coil to energize a device. In this particular case, they want to use it to power surveillance cameras. But, it could be applied to anything. I am immediately thinking of communication repeaters. I love the idea of a split core; you can just throw on a power line and tap it for a source. What if I throw 100 of these on a power line, will power in the line be lost?
Now the other half of the story, deploying cameras everywhere is worrisome. Have we become a hyper-voyeur in this high tech age? Video capturing devices are everywhere. My main fear, additional cameras mean more traffic tickets. Let's hope that's not the intended use.
They are so excited to make lives less private, but I commend them on the achievement. I'm excited about it too! "It's like when you were a kid you're working on your bike -- it's like that, times a thousand," says electrical engineer Pat Marshall. "I love it! I love being an engineer -- electrical, of course."
Cabe
