Your favourite technology or gadget!

[Jack]

Hi team,

Was wondering what pieces of technology people have come across in a novel that they think is seriously cool.

Jack

[Ian]

There are several in Sci-Fi books, but the one that I thought was pretty good, and a possibility of it actually being made, is the heart beat sensor that is used in, I think, Rainbow Six, Tom Clancy. It's used by the Rainbow team as they are storming a buildingto resuce hostages. It's an iPad type device with a map of the building on it, and each team member has a location device on them, that maps into the iPad, showing where each team member is, but also the device measures the subsonic waves of heartbeats in that area.. So any heartbeats showing are mapped to the team members, but any that are NOT the team members are either hostages or bad-guys. Gives the rainbow team a bit of an advantage as to what to expect before breaching a room.

[Jack]

Ian I remember playing the computer game and they had the heartbeat monitor in it. Was a very cool piece of kit. I think they stole it for modern warfare the computer game by infinity ward.

[Gideon]

Laser audio surveillance, you could listen to anyplace with a window from about 200 meters off. I'm sure it is obsolete today but when it first came out in the 80's it was kool.

also RF intercept surveillance, The entire intel community in the US, CIA, military, Diplomatic. All of them dumped their “IBM selectric” typewriters (remember the balls with the type on it) at once because we figured out that using RF intercept the bad guys could sit 500yards from a typewriter in a room full of the same model and narrow the RF down to intercept just one machine and duplicate every keystroke.

scary…

[Feliks, Moderator]

Good picks. I was under the impression that lasers-against-a-glass-surface was in fact, still the best way to eavesdrop at closed windows; particularly at occupants sitting in a car having a conversation.

I actually despise all forms of electronic surveillance, myself. 'Gadgets' is a broad topic though. I'd have to think about different types of 'gadget categories' first and then come up with some picks.

For example I'm a loyal fan of non-lethal weaponry and ammunition. Clever innovation going on in that field.

I also appreciate gadgets which can be cobbled together from the everyday environment all around us.

[Gideon]

Feliks wrote: "Good picks. I was under the impression that lasers-against-a-glass-surface was in fact, still the best way to eavesdrop at closed windows; particularly at occupants sitting in a car having a conver..."

It may be...
but I'm sure it is much more advanced, we had wind issues in the cities in eastern Europe, the glass was never real solid in the framed and the wind would move it and garble 20%.

I had a pick gun that was made by one of out techs, it was a cordless electric toothbrush with a rake pick attached, You would just let it rake the inside of the lock while adding tension and it would even open most mushroom pinned locks..