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Super Maps for the 21st Century
Roland Piquepaille writes "After five years of trials, Craig Knoblock and his team at the Information Sciences Institute of the University (ISI) of Southern California, have developed Heracles Maps, an easy-to-use laptop package to optimize routes in the whole world for both military and business travelers. This news release, "A SuperMap for Soldiers -- Or Business Travelers," says that the application integrates various sources of geospatial information, such as satellite imagery of mapping data. From this data, soldiers can easily find a safe route between two locations without being seen or shot from an enemy in another location. this package can easily be adapted to civilian applications, such as a powerful travel planner. You'll find more details and references in this overview."
Isn't finding a path from one location to another, taking into account terrain, changes in weather, means of locomotion and ease of travel a fairly difficult AI problem? I find it difficult to believe that a handy "Super Map" will solve the problem."
isn't this just an application of the travelling salesman problem? I thought that problem was NP...isn't it? If someone's found a cool way to solve it, care to share a link?
s/soldiers/invaders/g
Trolling is a art,
I mean, will the software generate the same suggested route given the same input conditions?
"Ok. We know they're here. And we know that they think we're here. So...their software is going to tell them to take this route..."
I dont think so.
If I were a soldier I wouldn't trust a route from a laptop. Not unless I knew exactly when it was told where enemy 'C' was located so I could allow for movements.
And of course, there is the whole beta testing problem - imagine a squad of troops walking through an 'empty forest' which just happens to contain a platoon of troops (Enemy 'D') doing an exercise not picked up by the spy satellites.
I'm not saying this is bad- I think its great, but no soldier will ever blindly follow the route it plots.
You can't expect to wield supreme executive power, just because some watery tart threw a sword at you
Well he might as well as it will save rework....
From what I gather, there are governmental organizations in most countries that are responsible for maintaining roads and highways. If you were able to get various countries to release information about actual speed limits/lengths of these roads, you could calculate efficient ways to circumvent troublesome regions.
In addition, with the implementation of GPS/laser terrain detection, you could implement the commercial air travel aspect of such a 'Super Map'. After all, we have laser and GPS guided tomahawk cruise missiles. Wouldn't the terrain detection be almost the same. And in that vein, wouldn't it be an easy leap to apply that functionality to a wide range of vehicles?
I think it's true, more now than ever, that a lot of technologies we're seeing become available to commercial applications were developed with military uses in mind.
If nothing else, it's good to see defense spending can have a nice turn around, and that developing bonds between same-purpose organizations accross the world is finally taking a step in the right direction.
The main challenge was, the scientist earlier wrote, that information "obtained from various data sources may have different projections, different accuracy levels, and different inconsistencies. The applications that integrate information from various geospatial data sources must be able to overcome these inconsistencies accurately, in real-time and for large regions."
i wonder what kind of notebook u need for that? Athlon 64 ?
Linux is like a Wigwam. No Windows no Gates but Apache inside
Travel planner? I was thinking more applications like a big MMORPG. (Wasn't the Pentagon working on one, reported on Slashdot a while ago?)
One line blog. I hear that they're called Twitters now.
"Damn you super maps! Now I am super lost!"
http://jayceecorder.blogspot.com
All invading armies will have to make connections in Charlotte and a Saturday stopover is required.
I've always enjoyed using JDM Cox's 'USAPhotoMaps' for free: USAPhotomaps -- it downloads terraserver images, allows zooming, panning, path overlay, and spot marking, among other features. Good stuff.
Do you turn them on by saying, "I solemnly swear I am up to no good." -- ?
--
I Hit the Karma Cap, and All I Got Was This Lousy
we need to give these maps to the workers of the postal service.
Then, perhaps, I could get my mail on time.
Given the current state of things, isn't that redundant?
"Then, perhaps, I could get my mail on time."
That also means that the bills will be on time.
So picture the scenario: Squad of blokes inside enemy territory, one carrying this laptop to find a safe route back. Stumble across enemy patrol, firefight in which laptop is hit and is now useless. Result: Still need to take hard copy (paper) maps, so laptop would be very inconvenient in this respect. Satellite recon could tell you where the enemy was in real time, and transmit it to the squad by radio, and squad would not need to carry laptop around, thus saving on pack weight!
Due to lack of disk space this user has been discontinued
These do not have a very good history. I don't know if you have tried using say, Mapquest's. If you have, you might have been in the mood to say "Mapquest is on crack". The directions are a good attempt, but aren't anywhere near effective.
The path computation is based upon a limited set of superhighways. The rest is just an attempt to move you to/from an exit, and not very effectively. I understand cpu limitations and limitations on the very information offered by satellite (or aerial photography) generated maps play a role here. For instance, many roads listed on maps as being 'four lane' tend to vary in size based upon bridge limitations, turn lanes, uneven buildup or the whims of the line painters, who put a huge shoulder in instead of another lane. Road maps also do not depict traffic lights or stop signs which impede progress. Lastly, traffic conditions are not taken into consideration. This one is huge, particularly on the US East Coast.
The net effect is that if you follow automated directions the trip time will mostly be far longer than if a person familiar with local conditions selects the route.
Beside which, topography is modeled but the ground cover isn't. This can be a huge consideration in military route selection. If I send a column through a forest, it can conceal both sound and visual data from the enemy. This mapping system doesn't have that data - which can change rapidly anyway because clearcutting trees is sadly simple for military units. They carry with them the equipment to do such things. How about guard towers that raise the viewer above the surrounding terrain? How about cameras? Houses?
Well, I can say with some surety that this system would never be permitted for use in the US military for these reasons, as well as a few others. Nothing will obviate good reconnaissance.
HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
Talk about living under big brother's nose!
"A computer with a bullet in it is just a paperweight. A map with a bullet in it is still a map."
-Maj. Keith Hauk
Life is too short to proofread.
Knowing the general neighborhood of USC, I suspect the ISI developers tested this application by finding a safe route to their own work. A sucessful test meant no bullet holes in their car upon arrival.
"dope will get you through times of no money better than money will get you through times of no dope"
"From this data, soldiers can easily find a safe route between two locations without being seen or shot from an enemy in another location."
So, will the civilian version make it so that, from this data, drivers can easily find a safe route between two locations without being seen or pulled over from a pig in another location?
Here are some details about the concept of Heracles Maps.
It can instantly dissect the geography of a city, showing users the electrical power grid, all rail, roads, pathways, and other man-made features, plus much more both in map and photographic form.
So, just use a laptop that is bullet proof. Then, not only are your maps safe, you have a good sheild, too.
Didn't you say just yesterday that you'd had enough of /., and Michael in particular, and were cancelling your subscription?
Or was that just another bit of sh*t-stirring?. Yeah Mod me down, GNAA mods, my karma's at heights you can't even conceive of and I meta-mod daily.
I have been a user for about 10 years. This ends Feb 2014. The site's been ruined. I'm off. Dice, FU
Roland Piquepaille:
Must you spam and blog whore /. and all the other public blog sites?
Are you being paid to post press releases everywhere and call them technology trends?
Please stop double-posting links to your blog (and failing to identify it as your blog ... NOT 'more details and references in this overview' as you so fondly like to obfuscate and trick people into generating more clickthroughs for your advertising). I won't even address the fact that you rarely (if ever) provide any details or references that aren't in a press release or news article that you've ripped off.
Please stop, Roland Piquepaille , SPAM and BLOG WHORE behavior is highly discourteous and dishonest to readers.
Be up front, and tell them that you are directing them to your blog, so you can earn more money from advertising.
Otherwise it's a form of bait and switch.
I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.
Rhymes that keep their secrets will unfold behind the clouds.There upon the rainbow is the answer to a neverending story
From this data, soldiers can easily find a safe route between two locations without being seen or shot from an enemy in another location.
From this very same data, opponent soldiers would be able to deduce automatically a blind spots in the vicinity of their location an send some intelligent robotic mines there, or maybe a bunch of children with hand grenades.
Of course, a quality of that data in the heat of battle would be interesting problem...
- Sir, we can't go this way. My head-on just shows there are 65535 enemy tanks over there!
- Check your uplink, soldier!
- Sorry sir, BSOD. Perhaps we are under some microwave fire, arn't we?
There you are, staring at me again.
So this is the what they used to get Neo out of The Matrix.
www.eissq.com/BandP.html Ball and Plate System. Amuse your friends. Crush your enemies.
...or not. Many other factors decide on the battlefield. And not all soldiers are able to use their equipment with same efficiency.
For instance, if a road is zigzagging up a hill, and you're in a car or tank, the road is probably your best route. If you're on foot going uphill, it might still be your best route, or it might not. If you're on foot, cutting off the curves and going straight down might be a better route, depending on how steep it is, and if you're in a tank, it might also be a good route if it's not too steep and doesn't have too many trees in the way.
If you're on foot, do you walk through a swamp or take the longer road around it? ("Waist deep in the big muddy.mp3")
Bill Stewart
New Fast-Compression-only CPR http://preview.tinyurl.com/dy575ks
"It can instantly dissect the geography of a city, showing users the electrical power grid, all rail, roads, pathways, and and other man-made features, plus much more both in map and photographic form." Does it come in Arabic?
There is also the reliability question. How well do these biometrics work when the soldier is wearing a CBW suit? If the PDA takes some shrapnel, how well does it work? You can still read most of a printed map after a projectile goes through it.
This is only the beginning, a laptop of > 1Kg is still going to be too bulky and heavy for the frontline soldier.
I predict later re-incarnations will be on flexible computer screens that weigh nothing and roll up to fit in a pocket easily. They will also be automatically updated from external data sources, such as information on latest weather, troop movements and terrain conditions; from unmanned drones, low orbit satellites and intel.
Later it will be part of a small computer integrated into a soldiers helmet and fed directly onto the back of the soldiers retina, as part of an advanced HUD.
Todays products are already old news
Remember: this package is voice operated. To start it up you must say "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good". And to shut it down, say "Mischief managed".
I have discovered a truly remarkable
Rachel Corrie, that is.
You know, the American girl you Jew bastards ran over with a goddamned bulldozer.
Well ?
The military already uses similar software. The various functions like getting to point A to point B without being shot are just used as tools by an analyst to help develop courses of action. Arcview is a similar product available to civilians. The only thing that is new with supermaps is that it appears that is has all the images/maps/data precompiled so that you don't have to hunt stuff down from NGA, formally NIMA.
Some comments seem to question the computational power of the notebooks. Now, if it were possible for them to be buildt to be extremly tough, reliable, and able to effectivly compute the needed data without being too big/heavy/power needing/detectable, then that would be best. But if not, couldn't the computing be done somewhere else? All they need send is their location, destination, and conditions affecting travel. ex. over loaded transports. If they are constantly updating each other of their position, and getting data from sats and other sources, then it doesn't sound like a problem to be transmiting (you already are). And yes, the data should be encrypted and sent as a burst.
Beware of gifts bearing Greeks.
You can easily and accurately get to any point on the planet as long as you remember to take that left turn in Albuquerque!
The U.S. really needs an English to Wisdom dictionary.
It is a bit unfair to compare it with MapQuest, since it tries to do better by taking into account how dangerous areas are, for example it could consider that a forest is safer for infantry.
;-)
It is pretty obvious that pathfinding that takes into account danger is better than pathfinding that does not, esp. if you have ever played Command and Conquer like me and seen your harvesters trying to move through the enemy base to reach resources on the other side of your base.
I expect you would have settings for the software such as "the REALLY SAFE path"(back up and move around with tanks) or just "safe path".
You could also add influence maps and burnt circles(tm S.S.).
I'm still trying to figure out what people mean by 'social skills' here.
Well, parts maybe. 15 years ago we had software to display maps from fricken Laser Disks (quote with fingers like Dr. Evil). You could click on points and find terrain profiles between, line of sight calc, vegitation height entry, maps and charts overlaid, map scale entry, plotted to map scale on vellum if desired. And it would run on a suitecase PC.
We just got a lecture at our schoool (The Jerusalem College of Technology) by a company that implemented that same technology, Geosym Systems.
http://www.geosimcities.com/
Perhaps if they would provide virtual streets, we could provide buildings, and we could have a virtual 'net a la SnowCrash.