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2007-06-23 Science & Technology

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Posted by Unaper Glomock1969 2007-06-23 15:09|| || Front Page|| [4 views ] Top

#1 diffs are always useful.

In time
In space
In dimensions

Tracking deltas is good too.
In time
In space
In n-space

Posted by 3dc 2007-06-23 16:54|| 2007-06-23 16:54|| Front Page Top

#2 Funny thing is, some of the analysis done for ASW works for this sort of thing. I'm not going to say the whats and wherefores since I don't know the boundaries on whats talk about and whats not, but the cold war is still paying dividends in some places, where people are smart enough to go outside the box (and bypass the brass).

Posted by OldSpook 2007-06-23 17:07|| 2007-06-23 17:07|| Front Page Top

#3 There are other OR applications going on, re: IEDs and related issues. A couple come from where I work.

Posted by lotp 2007-06-23 17:23|| 2007-06-23 17:23|| Front Page Top

#4 Hmmm... wouldn't disturbed soil have a different IR profile than undisturbed? I wonder if there's some other, detectable differences -- maybe something to do with water content, maybe detectable with special radar...

Posted by Rob Crawford">Rob Crawford 2007-06-23 19:03|| 2007-06-23 19:03|| Front Page Top

#5 High tech is great stuff. If we could keep track of people moving at night from high up, then we would know where they go and where they come from. After removing the night shift at the fig factory, the rest would be insurgents positioning themselves for action. No doubt this or something like it is done in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Posted by wxjames 2007-06-23 19:30|| 2007-06-23 19:30|| Front Page Top

#6 Doesn't matter. I'll just find another way for us to lose.

Posted by Sen Harry Reid (D-himmi)">Sen Harry Reid (D-himmi) 2007-06-23 21:02|| http://home.earthlink.net/~sleepyjackal/index.html]">[http://home.earthlink.net/~sleepyjackal/index.html] 2007-06-23 21:02|| Front Page Top

#7 When they can put this technology on a satelite and use it much like a video recorder in a store, then one would be able to get the longitude and latitude of a spot where an incident occured, roll the "tape" back to maybe 48 hours, and not only see who planted the IED, but follow the people to and from the scene to their abodes, no matter how far away from the scene the people approached or retreated from.

Posted by Anguling Turkeyneck9310 2007-06-23 22:11|| 2007-06-23 22:11|| Front Page Top

#8 Pattern analysis is one of the fundamental tools Operations Research (OR) practitioners have been using since World War II (when the newly developed field of OR got its first big workout). Pattern analysis is widely used on Wall Street, by engineers, law enforcement, marketing specialists, and now, the military.

All of this boils down to one of the most fundamental and important aspects of human consciousness. It's called "pattern recognition" and this has been the crux of advances made in most AI (artificial intelligence) or "Expert Systems" for the last few decades. Huge strides in machine memory have made possible higher resolution frame storage and retention of pre-programmed comparison templates.

None of this is rocket science. It is the result of applied machine intelligence combined with the input of seasoned personnel who have actually experienced real time execution of these procedures.

As Rob Crawford observes, "wouldn't disturbed soil have a different IR profile". While dependent upon advances in detector technology, it is these sort of simple measurements that can reveal a host of useful observations.

I refer you to my comments in the, "The Looming Crisis" thread.

Astride technological advances, ground penetrating radar is becoming far more economical. There is no reason why such detection systems can't be lofted on drones to prowl roads used by our troops in hostile territory. With UAV technology undergoing a similar cost-performance decline, 24/7 surveillance should cease to be a challenge as well. DARPA's competition to devise wholely automated driverless surface vehicles could yield unmanned minesweeping "decoys" to draw IED attacks as well.

Posted by Zenster">Zenster 2007-06-23 22:46|| 2007-06-23 22:46|| Front Page Top

#9 AT9310 - that assumes geosynchronous orbit over the spot....

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2007-06-23 23:02|| 2007-06-23 23:02|| Front Page Top

#10 None of this is rocket science.

Only if your familiarity with pattern recognition is confined to classroom exercises.

I call BS on this and your other pronouncement today re: IED detection.

As it happens, I know a number of people working on both of these issues. Military and civilians, with PhDs from places like Stanford in disciplines like applied math, computer science, physics and electrical engineering. They've been working long days, weeks and months on these issues. They've made some progress, more remains to be achieved. None of it came easily.

You would look less like a pompous fool if you confined your remarks to subjects you can speak with real knowledge about.

Posted by lotp 2007-06-23 23:11|| 2007-06-23 23:11|| Front Page Top

#11 I call BS on this and your other pronouncement today re: IED detection.

So, you maintain that drones with ground penetrating radar, combined with day/night surveillance and autonomously guided vehicles to sweep for or elicit premature detonation of IEDs are not of use?

While my catalogue of useful technologies is not comprehensive by any means, it is also in no way irrelevant. I don't know if you're familiar with "top down" or "bottom up" machine intelligence, but it's the input of boots-on-the-ground people that is helping to advance battlefield detection and analysis methodologies. This in no way demeans the work of laboratory based research, but the contributions of our fighting people will probably bear the most fruit.

Posted by Zenster">Zenster 2007-06-23 23:58|| 2007-06-23 23:58|| Front Page Top

23:58 Zenster
23:11 lotp
23:02 Frank G
22:57 trailing wife
22:55 trailing wife
22:55 trailing wife
22:50 Zenster
22:50 trailing wife
22:46 Zenster
22:34 Zhang Fei
22:21 Alaska Paul
22:19 Zhang Fei
22:17 trailing wife
22:11 Anguling Turkeyneck9310
22:08 trailing wife
22:06 McZoid
21:57 trailing wife
21:27 Anonymoose
21:21 Angaiger Tojo1904
21:20 Anonymoose
21:02 Sen Harry Reid (D-himmi)
21:01 Zenster
20:52 Pappy
20:42 Broadhead6