What I learned about military drones researching 'Mission: Impossible to Love'
In my new release, Mission: Impossible to Love, coming July 25, Elizabeth “Izzy” Benson is a tech genius whose Artificial Intelligence drone technology has been stolen and is being sold on the dark web. When I was writing the book,I spent a lot of time researching technology, including drones, AI, the dark web and hackers.
There is so much interesting research, and obviously not all of it can be included in a book. Here are a few facts I learned about drones that didn’t make it into Mission: Impossible to Love...but are still fascinating.
- Drone technology is also called “unmanned aerial vehicle” (UAV) technology.
- Drones (unmanned crafts) are built of lightweight composite materials, which enables military drones to fly at high altitudes, and are controlled from a ground-based system. Many drones are equipped with state of the art technology such as GPS, infrared cameras, and lasers.
- Applications for drones are becoming widespread in both the public and military sector. They come in a variety of sizes. The largest military UAV is the Predator drone. Click here to watch a video of a Predator drone taking off.
- Use of drones in the public sector is expanding. While you can’t yet have a pizza delivered by drone, this technology is widely used by companies for film, photo and video, as well as surveying and mapping land areas and inspecting and monitoring physical structures.
Here’s an excerpt from Mission: Impossible to Love. Enjoy this scene with Sten and Izzy and then preorder your copy to keep reading on release day!
Sten never stopped staring at her. “Avantus is using machine-learning algorithms to interpret drone-surveillance imagery. The company has managed to stay out of the controversy of using Artificial Intelligence in military operations. You have DOD security clearance, Ms. Benson?”
Why was he asking about her security clearance? What had he discovered about her? Paranoid fantasies of being dragged out of Dean’s office in handcuffs flashed before her. Now she could never ask Reeves for help in clearing her name. She had only planned to share her algorithm with him if she couldn’t stop Charles from selling it to North Korea or Russia.
“I have top secret level security clearance from my work at both Google and Avantus.” She didn’t add, “which you are totally aware of,” since she had been vetted before joining Dean’s software company.
All male eyes were now on her, and she felt the heat moving up her neck and across her chest. Darn her pale skin—it acted like a lie detector, preventing her from any subterfuge.
“But why leave Avantus?” Dean persisted. No wonder the man was a success. He was as tenacious as a colony of busy ants.
She gulped down the burning acid from her stomach moving upward. The noose was tightening around her neck. They didn’t still hang traitors, did they?
“I discovered that my work interests lie elsewhere.” Away from her cheating, conniving, criminal boyfriend.
“But I thought your second Ph.D. thesis was on machine learning?” Dean asked.
Izzy could feel the scorch of Sten’s intense focus zeroing in on her. It was as if he were slowly undressing her, leaving her sitting naked with every secret exposed. She could feel herself unraveling, wanting to believe that she’d soon wake up and be relieved that this was a bad dream.
“I never finished that Ph.D.”
Dean laughed. “At twenty-five, you still have plenty of time to finish it. Now, my daughter Sophie would say your arrival in Seattle was serendipitous. And I must agree. We need your help.”
“My help?” Izzy’s voice quivered. “How could I possibly help you?”
Mission: Impossible to Love ~ Releasing 7.25.19
Sources:
How Do Drones Work And What Is Drone Technology
Drones Are Doing More In U.S. Than You May Know, As These 3 Companies Show
