I agree with Nathan that the future implications of sensor capabilities can be terrifying. Beyond domestic or commercial use such as in cars or building control systems, there is a lot of money being poured into military sensor technology. Increasing sensor capabilities have moved from equipping soldiers with night-vision, rangefinders, and the like, to equipping UAV’s (Unmanned Arial Vehicles) with these things. In my opinion, the ability to identify and fire on targets without having to physically participate or maintain a line of sight is one of the most frightening implications of sensor technology we are facing in the near future. Clearly, the ongoing conflict between US and a number of different threats in the Middle East has created a demand for the use of sensor technologies such as infrared imaging for identifying enemies unbound by the traditional rules of combat. It can be argued, and recently released information suggests, that without sensors to supplement their vision, soldiers may not have been able to “catch” Osama Bin Laden, and likely a number of other terrorist targets.  The benefits and power associated with possession of the newest and most accurate sensors can be seen in this example, but now the conflict is purportedly ending, and we are still advancing our technology.

One of the latest efforts has been to equip UAV’s with increased capability for defining a target. Much like the self-driving cars that John wrote about, these UAV’s possess highly sensitive cameras, wind instrumentation, and even radar, all backed by algorithms that help the aircraft interpret all this data into fluid movement. One of the most exciting emerging concepts in UAV technology is that of a swarm UAV. As sensors have been getting smaller and smaller, so have the UAVs carrying these sensors. Now Miniature UAV’s or MAV’s are widely used by armies in a number of countries. Only 2-3 feet long, these MAV’s can be transported and assembled by a regular foot soldier and used for reconnaissance without any fear of personal injury. The concept of swarm UAV’s is much what it sounds like. A swarm of UAV’s can be deployed around a base vessel such as a submarine or destroyer, which is covered in an array of sensors. Data from the UAV’s can then be transferred to the vessel, and the UAV’s used to jam any third-party radar, essentially making the vessel invisible and acutely aware of its surroundings. Furthermore, the production-line mentality of UAV’s make them highly replaceable so that there is virtually no risk in sending out one or a swarm of them to identify (and sometimes destroy) a target. The implication is a sort of distant, unmanned warfare that I would fear to see in action.

Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miniature_UAVs

http://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007%2Fs10846-012-9698-1

http://search.proquest.com/docview/216203750