麻豆传媒

An extra dimension for aerial images

Google Earth has a new competitor when it comes to producing aerial 3D images. A system called Pix4D, produced by a spin-off from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne, can take 2D aerial photos and render them in 3D in about 30 minutes. Images of the desired area captured by a cheap flying drone are uploaded to a Pix4D server, where software detects points common to several shots. This allows it to stitch them together to form a 3D image. Photos taken at different times can be layered to show how the landscape is changing.

Stealth helicopter鈥檚 secret is out

They might have got their man, but US forces appear to have left behind the remains of a hitherto secret stealth helicopter after their raid on Osama bin Laden鈥檚 compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. The troops attempted to destroy the evidence by setting fire to the downed machine, but large chunks survived. What was left suggests it was a modified Black Hawk designed for stealth. The engine shroud has angled edges that may make it less visible to radar, and a dish-shaped cover over the tail rotor looks as if it should quell noise. People in the area reportedly did not hear the helicopters until they were overhead.

That鈥檚 what she said鈥�

Double entendres are always good for a snigger, but don鈥檛 expect computers to get the joke. Computer scientists Chlo茅 Kiddon and Yuriy Brun at the University of Washington, Seattle, want to change that with a system for recognising the TWSS joke. That鈥檚 the situation in which the phrase 鈥渢hat鈥檚 what she said鈥� is used to highlight a hidden or possibly unintended lewd meaning; Brits may say 鈥渁s the actress said to the bishop鈥� instead. Their Deviant (Double Entendre via Noun Transfer) system rates words and sentences for their double entendre potential. Nouns it has learned to look out for include 鈥渞od鈥� and 鈥渕eat鈥�, while mundane adjectives with a potentially raunchy meaning include 鈥渉ot鈥� and 鈥渨et鈥�.