China has revealed a dreadfully small drone the size of a mosquito that is intended for “special missions.”

Could surveillance go this way in the future? The Chinese official media posted a video of the tiny drone online, showing scientists demonstrating the device.

According to experts, this new drone will be capable of a variety of tasks, both military and civilian.

The ease with which these gadgets may infiltrate private spaces and overhear potentially delicate discussions has raised some concerns, though.

Experts have also stated that these drones are anticipated to be significantly quieter than larger ones, which means that bystanders may not notice them.

Along with having a tiny body and legs, the drones also have wings that seem genuine, giving them a strong insect-like appearance.

Speaking to the Telegraph, Sam Bresnick, who is a research fellow at Georgetown’s Centre for Security and Emerging Technology, said: “If China is able to produce mosquito-sized drones, it would likely be interested in using them for various intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance tasks, especially in places that larger drones struggle to access, such as indoor areas.”

“These drones could be used to track individuals or listen in on conversations.”

These drones’ introduction has raised concerns that they might seriously jeopardise national security, particularly if they end up in the wrong hands.

Speaking to The Sin, Tracey Follows, who is an author and an ex-Google futurist, said, “In time, one expects a drone to have the situational awareness to carry out an attack autonomously without a human in the loop.”

“The big question is what’s the payload on these drones, what are you actually attaching to the drone?”

“Increasingly, over the last four or five years, I’ve been reading about viruses and how you can potentially attach a pathogen to these sorts of weapons.”

“So not only can you identify somebody personally, you can then attack them with a virus, for example.”