Resead's real secret, though, is in the way it handles the incoming data. First, these are pre-crunched by powerful hardware built into the sensors themselves. This step, a form of parallel processing, greatly reduces the time required by the central receiving computer to finish the job. Second, the mathematical technique employed, a species of finite-element analysis, divides the volume represented by the incoming data not merely into blocks, as is normal in this approach, but into blocks the faces and edges of which can have different properties. This means a block can straddle, say, the interface between a metal pipe and the rock surrounding it. That considerably reduces the number of blocks needed, and further simplifies the calculation.
然而,Resead真正的秘密在于它處理傳入數據的方式。首先,傳感器本身內置的強大硬件可以預先處理這些數據。這一步(一種并行處理的形式)大大減少了中央接收計算機完成工作所需的時間。其次,所采用的數學技術,一種有限元分析,不僅把輸入數據所代表的體積分成塊(這是該方法的正常做法),而且分成塊,這些塊的面和邊可以有不同的屬性。這意味著塊體可以跨越金屬管道和周圍巖石之間的界面。這大大減少了所需的塊的數量,并進一步簡化了計算。
To test their system Dr Weiss's team decided to look at an oilfield. Most oilfields have only one or two wells per square kilometre, which is hardly challenging. The team, however, chose in Bakersfield, California, which has a dense network of oil-related infrastructure. The square kilometre they picked contains more than a hundred wells, many underground storage tanks and tens of kilometres of steel pipeline. Resead made short work of this challenge. It produced an accurate map of the area in just ten minutes.
為了測試他們的系統,韋斯博士的團隊決定對一個油田進行考察。大多數油田每平方公里只有一到兩口井,沒什么挑戰性。然而,該團隊選擇了加州貝克爾斯菲爾德,那里有一個密集的石油相關基礎設施網絡。他們選擇的那塊土地有一百多口井、許多地下儲罐和幾十公里的鋼管道。而里德很快就解決了這一挑戰,它在十分鐘內就繪制出了該地區的精確地圖。
Exactly how Resead sensors would be put in place in a zone of active conflict remains to be seen. But the system could certainly be useful for other sorts of security. In particular, America has a problem with tunnels under its border with Mexico being used to smuggle drugs and migrants into the country. Resead would be able to detect existing tunnels and nip new ones in the bud.
Resead傳感器將如何安裝在沖突頻繁的地區還有待觀察,但該系統當然也可以用于其他類型的安全。特別是,美國與墨西哥邊境的地下隧道被用來向該國走私毒品和移民。Resead將能夠探測現有的隧道,并將新的隧道扼殺在萌芽狀態。
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