Rajagopalan, Sumitra, "It's a Bird, It's a Plane … (It's an ornithopter, and it holds great potential for space an military missions)"

Rajagopalan, Sumitra. "It's a Bird, It's a Plane … (It's an ornithopter, and it holds great potential for space an military missions)." "Special to The Washington Post," appearing Weekly Edition 8-14 Sept. 2003: 36. "Researchers Ape Nature With Flapping-Wing Aircraft: Versatile Ornithopters Hold Promise for Space or Military Missions." Post 1 Sept. 2003: A09. [1].

Scientists at the University of Toronto and elsewhere answer the call by James McMichael of the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for "a 'fly-on-the-wall spy'": i.e. "stealth 'micro-air vehicles' with the size and flying ability of insects deployed to gather intelligence on enemy terrain." See for a realization of the dream of the ornithopter of SF (e.g., Frank Herbert's Dune [1965], or the film), and perhaps nightmare visions of "synsects" (artificial insects), as in S. Lem's "The Upside-Down Evolution" and The Invincible (q.v. under Fiction)—or inescapable, invasive surveillance (search Wiki for Keyword "surveillance").