In They Live, one of the greatest movies of our time, Rowdy Roddy Piper takes a couple of potshots at a flying spy drone designed to keep tabs on the unsuspecting populace. Fiction is soon to turn to reality when the British government deploys these flying drones over the skies of Merseyside, U.K.

Unlike some other flying security 'bots, this drone doesn't need a human master to tell it where to go thanks to the built-in GPS tracking system. The drone is designed to spot evildoers from a height 550 yards and once crime has been obliterated, it can also monitor traffic. Built by microdrones GmbH, the md4-200 is only a couple of feet across, weighs less than three pounds, and is nearly silent when hovering above you recording your activities. The downside is it can only fly for 20 minutes at a time before needing to land for recharging. — Stephen Schleicher

microdrones GmbH, via The Register

Take the jump for a video of this spy bot in action.