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Mapping Ground Zero with Lasers

Posted by michael on from the search-and-rescue dept.

securitas writes: "Amazing how the WTC disaster has shone a light on technology (pun intended). LIDAR (Light Detecting and Ranging) is the optical equivalent of RADAR. It's being used to create hyper-detailed maps of the WTC disaster site from an altitude of 5000 feet to detect shifts in the rubble as well as areas in danger of collapse."

4 of 97 comments (clear)

  1. Re:Turbulence etc. by stjobe · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Why does this require a LIDAR to do

    It probably doesn't - most likely it's just to note that the LIDAR is pretty accurate - enough to pick out debris on the roofs of buildings.

    --
    "Total destruction the only solution" - Bob Marley
  2. Terrible Sense of Levity by brianvan · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I know Michael got reamed for this yesterday, but this once again is a story that uses an inappropriate introduction... with words like "nifty" and "(pun intended)" to refer to something regarding this tragedy...

    I mean, I'm not one to be oversensitive, but come on people... I think that you disrespect the dead and the affected when you use cavalier words while referring to this situation. I only live 5 miles from Ground Zero and I saw the towers collapse with my own eyes. This makes me no more or less affected than any other American (save for those who lost a loved one in the disaster), but for a story poster to consistently make the same error in judgement like this obviously shows something about his regard for human life, for American pride, and for the people around him that are deeply affected by this terrible situation.

    I ask not that we refrain from bringing it up, as I'm very proud of Slashdot in general for its coverage of this situation. But, to repeat the point from yesterday, there is nothing "nifty" about 6,700 innocent Americans dying in the most horrible way possible at the hands of a few highly irrational people... people whose peers live among us today waiting to give us our next big tragedy, our next week of continuous news coverage, our next spilling of innocent blood.

    I mean, I don't want to be too dramatic, but our American flags don't just cheer us up and bring us together... they remind us of our freedom and the horrible things that happened because we insisted on having it. It may be 13 days later, but it's still a horrible thing. Please treat it accordingly.

    1. Re:Terrible Sense of Levity by Diabolical · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Please.... it were not 6.700 Americans but 6.700 Americans AND other nationalities (there were several hundreds of people working in the WTC that were NOT american)

      It was not Michael that used these words. It was the person submitting the story. The word "nifty" i did not see...

      Should /. withhold a story because someone is using a sense of levity in his introduction even if the story in itself is worthwhile?

  3. Typical Computer Geek by wiredog · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Probably get modded to minus infinity for this, but here goes.

    He's a typical geek. In terms of personality we often are mildly sociopathic. We often don't connect with other people at all. And, unless we have been directly effected by an event, we are detached from it. We often live in our own little worlds, revolving around the latest cool tech. What we see is the coolness, the niftyness. We don't really see the people.

    --

    Best Slashdot Co