Watch the Worlds Highest Resolution Drone-Mounted Camera in Action
Eric Limer
Sure, your phone can take a decent picture, but it's not even in the same universe as the best camera the government's got. At 1.8 gigapixels, the DARPA-developed ARGUS-IS the highest resolution surveillance platform in the world, and, when mounted to a drone, can single-handedly do the work of an army of 100 predator drones watching the area of one medium-sized city.
ARGUS's view is both wide and precise. It can cover areas of up to 15 square miles at a glance while still spotting objects as small as six inches around from heights of 17,500 feet. ARGUS not only streams the footage to the ground live, but keeps a stash of video on board as well, a staggeringly massive stash of up to 1 million terabytes (one exabyte) per day.
Whether the ARGUS-IS is currently deployed right now is classified information, and likewise, we aren't allowed to see exactly what it looks like either. But one thing is for sure: all-seeing eyes in the sky that never forget aren't science fiction. They're reality. And for all you know, they could be watching you.
You can find out more about the ARGUS-IS and other drones in PBS's Nova special "Rise of the Drones," which this clip is taken from. [PBS via Reddit]
right now....she coulda done some sweet vids with Lisa Ann back in the day
