NYPD: Spycopter

The New York Police Department (NYPD) got a new spying toy. A helicopter stuffed full of surveilance electronics with amazing (and frightening) capabilities:

  • looks like a civilian helicopter made by “Bell”
  • an arsenal of sophisticated surveillance and tracking equipment powerful enough to read license plates — or scan pedestrians’ faces — from high above New York
  • see-but-avoid-being-seen advantage
  • worth $10 million
  • high-powered robotic camera mounted on a turret projecting from its nose like a periscope
  • camera has infrared night-vision capabilities
  • a satellite navigation system allows police to automatically zoom in on a location by typing in the address on a computer keyboard
  • can beam live footage to police command centers or even to wireless hand-held devices

The NYPD got the expected reactions:

“From a privacy perspective, there’s always a concern that ‘New York’s Finest’ are spending millions of dollars to engage in peeping tom activities,” said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the New York Civil Liberties Union.

And answered them the usual way:

Police insist that law-abiding New Yorkers have nothing to fear.

Yeah, right. Nothing to fear? If I want to be spied upon, I would move to North Corea. Yahoo tells us, that the NYPD plans to spend tens of millions of dollars strengthening security in the lower Manhattan business district with a network of closed-circuit television cameras and license-plate readers posted at bridges, tunnels and other entry points. We are sure they are only taping the “non-law-abiding New Yorkers”. That’s pretty much the usual stuff. The UK (who somehow misunderstood George Orwells 1984 and now seem to take it as an instruction manual) has all this. But now the Yahoo article starts to get surreal:

Police have also deployed hundreds of radiation monitors — some worn on belts like pagers, others mounted on cars and in helicopters — to detect dirty bombs.

And fantastic – did he read the R. Talsorian “Protect and Serve”?

[NYPD Police Commissioner Raymond] Kelly even envisions someday using futuristic “stationary airborne devices” similar to blimps to conduct reconnaissance and guard against chemical, biological and radiological threats.

Thanks to Don’t Tase Me, Bro! for pointing me to the Yahoo News Article. I remember a (bad) science fiction movie featuring a helicopter that could see into rooms with thermographs. Anybody remember the name?

Aerial Intrusion Device

Real Life

The following device is based on Yves “The Fusionman” Rossy’s Jetpack. For copyright reasons, I’m not showing you any photos, but link to them:
On the ground

  • Wings folded, front view
  • Wings unfolded, front view
  • Close-up view of underside with jetmotors and harness, wings unfolded

Flying

  • From above
  • From above
  • Edge-on side view
  • From below
  • Video

There is a video on YouTube, too:
[youtube bEXxkWXncuo]

And Wikipedia has an entry, too.

Game Stats

For a Cyberpunk setting I would leave the requirment to launch the jetpack from an airplane or something similar. The reach should be short, but not as short as the prototype (6.5 minutes at 185 km/h). So lets put it at 220 km/h for 10 min, giving it a reach of 35 km. It has near to none radar signature, but does emit heat, so it might be detectable.

Statistics:

Top Speed 220 km/h Acc/Dec 110/20 km/h
Crew 1 Range 35 km
Pass 0 Cargo none
Maneuver +3 SDP 5
SP 0 Type Jetpack
Mass 20 kg Cost 20,000 EB

Special Equipment:

Nav System, stealth option, parachute

Rockerboys: The True Cyberpunk Spirit

Rockerboys haven’t had much coverage on this blog so far. So you might not be surprised by the news that the Nine Inch Nails released their new album (“The Slip”) under the Creative Commons “attribution noncommercial share-alike” license. A note on the NIN site says:

“We encourage you to remix it, share it with your friends, post it on your blog, play it on your podcast, give it to strangers, etc.”

Thank you guys. That’s very clever, and makes me feel much better downloading the album.

Sure, I’m was never dumb enough to pay for DRM-Music. Microsoft just proved that you have to be brain-damaged to do so by removing support for the aptly named Playsforsure – now it won’t play as soon as you change to a new computer/mp3-player. They never supported Linux, anyway.

But Get Out Clause, a band I never heard of before, puts the NIN-guys to shame. Get Out Clause is from Manchester, UK. The UK has adoped a senseless but ambitious programme to videotape every second of the life of every single person living there. Yes senseless: They claim to do so to fight terrorism or crime, but just had to admit that it didn’t work. Guess whats the new plan: Right, more cameras. Anyway, GOC just performed in front of one of those cameras and then asked for the tape and then stitched the results together for their music video. That’s cyberpunk. Esp. the punk part! Rock on, guys!

[youtube 98u1HuqS7Nk]

Malte vom Spreeblick hat das ganze auf deutsch noch viel besser formuliert als ich das je könnte. Ich hoffe, dass er nicht böse ist, wenn ich seinen ganzen Post zitiere:

In England geschieht nichts unbeobachtet. Das ganze Land hat eine dermaßen hohe Überwachungskameradichte (die unter Sicherheitsaspekten nichts bringt und deshalb erhöht werden soll), dass – so erzählt man sich in Berlin – Wolfgang Schäuble nachts von Laterne zu Laterne fährt und Polaroidkameras installiert, wobei er “God save the Queen” singt und lauwarmes Bier trinkt. The Get out Clause, eine Band aus Manchester, die keinen Plattenvertrag hat, machte sich nun die vielen Kameras zunutze (nicht die Polaroids von Schäuble, die echten) und hat sich erst aufzeichnen lassen, dann die Aufnahmen unter Berufung auf den Freedom of Information Act zurück gefordert, bearbeitet und ein Video daraus produziert.

DragonSkin Armor

For your next discussion about modern armor rules in Cyberpunk 2020.

[youtube KS0pSwdQfbY]

Stats provided by Karsten:

Dragonskin Vest – SP: 30 EV: -1: treats AP (armor-piercing) rounds like normal Ammo – 1200 eb.

(based on Chrome 4 Armor Costs revised: Vest: 25 eb, very good quality (x2), AP-proof (x3), SP30 (x6), extra 300 eb for reducing the EV by one – not on the list). Do you agree?

Watch yourself bleed to death in slow motion

We’ve said it many times, and chances are we will keep on telling you: Cyberpunk’s not dead, it’s just turned into our present. Almost every day, we find stuff that most Cyberpunk authors may have once described in their visions of our future. And in a lot of cases, this future turned out to be a lot weirder than any SF author could have guessed.

So here’s another fine selection of weird and often quite inventive Cyberpunk stuff, this time from the incredibly imaginative website thinkgeek.com

Personal Soundtrack T-Shirt

The definitive add-on for each and every poser gang member. Don’t be satisfied by just looking like Kirk or marching like Vader. Let others hear your personal soundtrack in each and every situation. Catch more information and a funny video of the many uses of this piece of tech here. Available NOW! for 39.99$

Labyrinth Security Lock

Ever thought that security stuff that just slows down intruders (like Cyberpunk 2020 player characters) is unrealistic? You ain’t seen nothing yet. Even in 2020, there are geeks lurking behind every corner. They may even work in the R&D department of your next megacorporate target. Geeks LOVE labyrinths and puzzles. As you can see for yourself with this titanium labyrinth security lock. Available NOW! for 49.99$

Youtube Tazer

Big Brother is here. And chances are, he will never leave. Especially if he is so much fun to have around. Like when you taze that ‘punk that tries to assault you and instantly upload the video of your successful hit to Youtube. Or your security provider. Or the cops. Imagine all the fun you and your fellow Cyberpunks can have with Fashion Guncam versions of this idea. Watch yourself bleed to death in slow motion. Maybe even to your own soundtrack (check out the Soundtrack T-Shirt, above). Available NOW! for 99.99$.

Wii Pee Game

No. It’s not real. You have not just discovered that there is a peeing game for the Wii console. Super Pii Pii brothers? Give me a break. Sorry pal. No rest for the wicket. The peeing game is here (yes, there is a video as well). Available NOW! fpr 34.99$. Peeing controller included.

Snooze and Lose

This one gets a bonus point for creativity in getting the wage slaves off their fat asses and earning the megacorp even more money. Originally, this alarm clock is intended to donate money every time you hit the snooze button to a charity organisation you HATE – giving you a great incentive to get up immediately, instead of snoozing on. By 2020, this gizmos are bound to be installed in every wageslaves appartment. Hit the snooze button, and your employer will receive a payback from your bank account. Hit the snooze button three times, and you may receive the ultimate wakeup call by that tazer they built into your corporate appartment’s bed. They may even share your tazed early morning self via that handy youtube tazer application, feeding the vid directly into the megacorporate employees network. The original SnūzNLūz is available HERE for 39.99$

Have Fun At Thinkgeek.com

There are a lot of other nifty things available there, like the deadly annoying Sonic Grenade, the easily upgraded USB Webcam Rocket Launcher, the highly useful 1.3 Megapixel Spy Camera Glasses, The dream of every Orion Battlelord (see SSDC page for Battlelord RPG info – Orions are aliens that wear kilts) Utility Kilt, the amazing Ultimate Hoody with built-in Personal Area Network, the very first in Urban Flash jewelry, the uber-cool Aurora Borealis Mood Projection Lamp (how could anyone ever live without it!), a f**cking lot of High-Tech watches from Video to WiFi Detection, a top-of-the-notch RFID Experimentation Kit, the TOTALLY innovative Driving LED Emoticon with which you can show other drivers smileys, the TeleSpy Intrusion Detector that gives you a call if it spots any movement in your home, a (soon) very useful RFID Blocking Wallet and the likewise very useful Hidden Camera Detector

Cyberpunk Art 6: Tank Time

Always looking for a fashionable way to move through the post-apocalypse: The Tank!

Tank in the rain

Tank in the rain This armored scoutcar is the ideal urban tank. Fast and well armed, no punk can do better! Found as Vehicle concept on Gorilla Artfare
Click on the image for a larger picture.

The Armys robot mule: Amazing Robot Tech

Nils sandte mir aber dieses Video zu:

[youtube b2bExqhhWRI]

Danke, Nils!

@Nils: Wäre nett, wenn du und ich bald mal wieder zusammen zocken könnten. Und: Sag mal, hast du noch die buildnotes zu unserem Hovercraft? Und das Bild? Bald ist ja Nordcon