surveillance question.?

Question

is there any type of device that can be placed, that matches the landscape, and can observe movement in a set area. something like a "rock" with a camera inside and maybe solar powered. seems like it might be good to place in afghanastan in the border areas for tracking. maybe motion sensitive.

Answer 1

It's not really cost effective to install such observation equipment in a larger area to "watch" that area - especially considering that anything electronic can and will fail eventually and requires maintenance, so people would have to be sent out to maintain it.

Now, that said, there are many ways to observe movement in an area. The easiest at the moment is probably the use of satellite imagery. Why install a bunch of devices if you can look at a whole area from space, zoom in and get pictures?

If closer observation is required, you also have unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) that can be flown over using a remote control and send back a live image feed of the area. If you need more flexible "eyes on", you always have LRS (long range surveillance) troops that can be inserted behind enemy lines or forward deployed to an area.

However, that said, the military has previously deployed a number of different devices. In Vietnam, a ground sensor device was used that detected movement, sound, or infra-red emissions. You can read a little bit about them at this website - http://home.att.net/~c.jeppeson/igloo_white.html Previous to Vietnam, a host of other "spy" devices were also used, including a radio transmitter in the shape of dog poop developed by the OSS in World War II.

Answer 2

There are already several devices, besides cameras, that are already in use, not only in Afghanistan, but on our own border with Mexico in the hunt for illegal wetbacks. These devices work on seismic ground vibrations, infra-red radiation detection, and even sniffing out the stink of body odors! Most of these devices are camouflaged so they can't be destroyed by the illegal invaders they are set to catch, as your question asks.
Believe it or not, most of these devices were developed and utilized in the Viet Nam War against the VC (Viet Cong) and NVA regular troops.

Answer 3

Yes, such devices do exist and they are already in place in many border locations. The drones surveillance aircraft are actually doing a much better job however and less prone to discovery and damage.