Scarab
Definition
Scarab is a compact urban surveillance drone used for crowd and hotspot mapping rather than conversation capture. Its acoustic profile is a faint insect like hum.
Capabilities
- Lidar scanning and thermal imaging for density and movement heatmaps.
- Low noise propulsion stable hover and precise point navigation.
- Built in redaction of audio content focusing on presence vectors and temperature clusters.
- Telemetry suitable for integration into grid systems such as the Aerial Surveillance Grid.
Risk and Enforcement
Scarab sightings often precede routine gate checks and random identity queries. Persistent anomalies or recurring hot clusters raise escalation especially near controlled corridors and transit nodes.
Limitations
- Covered galleries and underground passages create blind zones.
- Basalt facades and canyon walls may cause false returns.
- Heavy rain or dust reduces lidar fidelity with thermal noise in dense crowds.
Variants
- Micro Scarab interior or close range scanning.
- Patrol Scarab increased endurance for perimeter loops.
- Relay Scarab operates as a communications relay for wider network coverage.
- Night Scarab optimized infrared payload for low light operations.
Social Notes
Citizens often call it Beetle. Rumor based apps such as Murmur flag live pins as scarab to warn of nearby passes.
Notes
Scarab units form the sensory edge of urban monitoring across Olmara enabling fast silent mapping of movement patterns. Their presence is both mundane and subtly coercive creating background pressure in controlled districts.
Category: Device Tags: Surveillance, Device