Swarm of Tiny UAVs With Stationary Base Relay

This is a kind of surveillance idea. There would be a large number of small, relatively inexpensive UAVs. Each UAV would incorporate a camera capable of taking only still photos. Each UAV would transmit the photos over a relatively short distance. Along with each photo would be a data package including as much information as could be economically gather about its own position including height from the ground, compass heading of the front end of the UAV, angle of tilt from horizontal, etc. GPS would definitely not be included (too expensive).

The stationary base relay (SBR) would be a relatively larger, higher-powered unit compared to the UAVs. Initially, the stationary base relay and the smaller UAVs would be delivered to the base location by a mother UAV that would drop them off and leave. The SBR would be dropped at the base of a plant. The SBR's antenna would be dropped into the foliage of the plant for camouflage.

The SBR would pick up the short-range transmissions of the UAV and relay them to the main base station, or military base. a computer at the main base station would correlate the various photos from the UAVs to create a larger (incomplete) picture of the area. The SBR would locate the source of each photo via triangulation to help with this overall image-building process. signals broadcasted from the SBR would teach the UAV where it was and train it not to stray out of range of the SBR receiver.

UAVs, and possibly the SBR, could be powered by solar energy. The SBR might have the capability of rolling to a new location, bringing the UAVs along, of course. The SBR could also receive a blackout signal from the main base station, which would of course be relayed to all UAVs---for purposes of temporary concealment in the event of possible enemy detection. Perhaps the mother UAV could also repair the SBR in the event of a malfunction.