'Reconnaissance' bullet can shoot pictures.

• Author: Foster, Sharon
• Position: Tech talk - Brief Article

The Georgia Tech Research Institute is developing a novel way for small ground units to see past obstacles. Called the "reconnaissance round," the technology would let soldiers use small artillery weapons almost like a periscope. They could launch a device that transmits images of nearby terrain back to a laptop computer.

The reconnaissance round is the brainchild of Charles M. Stancil, a senior research engineer at Georgia Tech. "Soldiers will be able to fire the recon round and have photos relayed to them right over the battlefield so they can see from a vertical perspective how the enemy is positioned," said Stancil.

Currently, a ground unit requiring aerial information has to go up the chain of command to request satellite images or aerial photos from an unmanned aircraft, for example.

The 2-pound, 6-inch-long reconnaissance...