Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
ELASTIC Shotgun Cam Network
Expendable Local Area Sensors in a Tactically Interconnected Cluster (ELASTIC) is a set of small, ballistically distributed optical imaging sensors. Once deployed - via shotgun or other such device - they would link up with each other to form an ad hoc network.
ELASTIC is another attempt to meet the needs of the military in moving into an urban setting and setting up a quick surveillance and information network. At present, setting up a perimeter is both time-consuming and dangerous; it also makes use of hardware that is considerably more expensive.
DARPA is now looking for vendors to implement this idea.
Easy surveillance network deployment reminds me of Larry Niven's webeye cameras from his 1996 book Ringworld's Throne.
Similar ideas can be found in some real-world prototypes. The Rapid Deployment Integrated Surveillance System uses off-the-shelf technology to accomplish a similar goal. The RFID Sensor Tag Shower For Disasters seems to meet the scattershot requirements of this project.
Via Wired; see also some ELASTIC details
There will also be a lower-bandwidth down-link capability from the tactical operator back to the sensors to support multiple modes of operation-alert level (including hibernation), region of interest (ROI) selection, limited motion of sensor, etc. This requires the design of imaging systems using only simple molded plastic lenses that are nevertheless capable of quality imaging over a large volume; including a large depth-of-focus (DOF) and wide viewing angle. Simple signal processing at the other end of the Up-Link produces high-quality images from the sensor data. More elaborate processing can produce increased resolution (“Super-Resolution” or SR) for regions of interest (ROI) selected by the operator. This is a “digital zooming” capability. Multiple sensor modes are also possible, with some sensor units reporting sound, motion detection (optical, sonar or radar), vibration, etc.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 10/1/2007)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Surveillance ")
Chameleon Personalized Privacy Protection Mask
'...the Virtual Epiphantic Identity Lustre.' - Neal Stephenson, 2019.
Spherical Police Robot Rolls In China
'Rand could effectively be in several places at once...' - Niven and Pournelle, 1981.
Vietnam To Have Full Biometric Transparency
'inscriptions too small to be seen with the naked eye; microscopic data...' - Eric Frank Russell, 1939.
Simple Way To Defeat AI Face Recognition
'... designed to foil facial recognition systems.' - Neal Stephenson, 2019.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Robotic Barber Programmed With a Number of Styles
'He found a barber shop which, he thought, would be good for an idle hour.'
Humanoid Boxing Robot KO's Opponent - It's A Knockout!
'Thirty rounds of fighting is tough work. Even for machines.'
Caterpillar Electric Mining Loader Not Yet Ready For Moon
'...the excavations were already in progress, for he saw gray slopes of rubble.'
Centipede Robots Down On The Farm
'...the walking mills of Puffy Products began to tread delicately on their centipede legs across the wheat fields of Kansas.'
Anthropic's Claude AI Creates Legal Citation From Whole Cloth
'Here is a Clerk that would work incessantly, and neither eat, sleep, want payment, or grumble.'
Students Vie For Lunar Regolith Mining Robot Prize
'About time you got here,' the astronaut said.
'They Erased My Memory' Says Ariana Grande
'...using a neutralizing electronic impulse.'
Solitary Black Hole Wanders In Space
'...the Hole is something like a vortex or a whirlpool?'
Spaceplane From Virgin Atlantic
'ZARNAK, YOU'RE TO COMMAND A SCOUTING EXPEDITION --- FIND OUT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT!'
DARPA Wants 'Large Bio-Mechanical Space Structures'
'These are your rudimentary seed packages... Some will combine in place to form more complicated structures.'
Robot Hand Creeps Along, Separate From It's Owner
'The crawling... object was V-Stephen's surgeon-hand...'
Taikonauts Exercise In China's Tiangong Space Station
'Joe got out the gravity-simulator harnesses...'
Korean Exoskeleton Suit F1 Helps You Put It On
'Better late than never.'
Have AI Researchers Given Up On 'Bio-Babies'?
'You couldn't have the capstone without the pyramid to hold it up.'
Bunker Busters and Bore-Pellets
'The first revelation of the new Soviet bore-pellets.'
'Spikeless' Brand Swizzle Stick Detects Spiked Drinks
'the unobtrusive inspections with tiny remote-cast snoopers...'
