3dMap
Latest
Researchers use Hubble to map 3D structure of exploding star
Witness now the death of a star in glorious 3D. It's not quite as exciting as all that, but astronomers have managed to map the eruptions of the nova using footage from the Hubble telescope. Above are three images of T Pyxidis (that's T Pyx to its friends), a double star system located some 15,600 light-years away -- the white globular bit in the middle is the star. The researchers reported to their surprise that the ejected matter has largely stayed in the area of the star, creating a disk of debris, likely expanding but not leaving the orbit. The findings suggest that the companion in the star system helps dictate where that material goes. More info on the research can be found after the break.
Love and Hate tweets collected on 3D 'Love Will Conquer' site
Valentines Day might have passed you by, but for many it's a day of conflicting emotions. Some of you may be screaming EB Browning's Sonnet 43 from the rooftops, others talking about how much you hate smug couples. Either way, if you're tweeting your feelings then (innovative marketing firm Imperial Leisure's) Love Will Conquer will record it. Geotagged tweets are being mapped, in real-time onto a 3D Earth, where an perpetually growing tree maps out who's feeling what and when. If you tell someone you love them freely and the tree will swell with red leaves, whereas hate causes cold blue ones to sprout instead. If you want to watch the world venting its ardor, point your WebGL browser (Chrome and Firefox 10.1 both work) at our source link.
Magellan announces RoadMate RV9145 GPS device, offers campground navigation for $350
Looking to get a jump start on your summer road trip? Magellan wants to help out, with the RoadMate RV9145. This latest addition to the RoadMate family of GPS devices features an "extra-wide" seven-inch display, which drivers can use to locate campgrounds and navigate the open road, even in low light conditions. With the RV9145, you'll have access to the Good Sam Trailer Life RV Parks & Campground Directory, which offers information on more than 11,700 campground locations across the US and Canada, including those with WiFi and other amenities. Each route, moreover, can be tailored according to your vehicle's height, width and weight, as well as your own preferences for scenic or expedient traveling. The device also comes packed with Magellan's Smart Detour, which offers alternate routes whenever traffic gets unexpectedly thorny, and offers both 2D and 3D mapping capabilities. No word yet on when this device will hit the market, but when it does, you'll be able to grab it for $350.
Microsoft Kinect used to map asteroids, glaciers, other scary things
Ken Mankoff is a PhD student at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he studies ice and ocean interactions. He also counts himself among a growing legion of environmental scientists who have begun using Microsoft's Kinect to create detailed, 3D maps of caves, glaciers and even asteroids. As Wired reports, the Kinect has garnered something of a cult following within the scientific community, especially among those who, until now, have relied upon comparatively more expensive and complicated technologies to gather detailed 3D data. The approach du jour for most researchers is something known as Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) -- a laser-based technology capable of creating precise maps over relatively large areas. The Kinect, by contrast, can only see up to 16 feet in front of itself, but at just $120, it's significantly cheaper than the average LIDAR system, which can run for anywhere between $10,000 and $200,000. It's also surprisingly accurate, capable of capturing up to 9 million data points per second. Mankoff, for one, has already used the device to map a small cavern underneath a glacier in Norway, while Marco Tedesco, a hydrologist at the City College of New York, is looking to attach a Kinect to a remote-controlled helicopter, in the hopes of measuring so-called meltwater lakes found on glaciers during the summer. Then there's Naor Movshovitz, also a PhD student at UC Santa Cruz, who's more interested in using the Kinect and its image processing software to figure out how asteroids behave when broken up by a projectile. There are limitations, of course, since the device still has trouble performing amidst severe environmental conditions, though its supporters seem confident they'll find a solution. Read more at the source link below.
LIDAR-equipped robot maps dangerous areas in 3D so you don't have to
Looks like the kids at MIT might have a little competition for their LIDAR-equipped 3D mapping drone. Researchers at Missouri University of Science and Technology have teamed up with the University of Missouri-Columbia for a prototype robot that uses light detection and ranging (similar to RADAR, but with lasers) to map areas and send the 3D data to a nearby laptop. The technology not only provides detailed info on floor plans and physical structures (such as possible structural damage) but it can also "see" people inside a space. There are many possible applications for this, from spotting terrorists hiding in caves to seeing if your new internet girlfriend really looks like her profile pic, or -- and this is especially important in the modern era -- seeing if your new internet girlfriend is actually a terrorist (we wondered why she wanted that first meeting to take place in a cave). "Once you have the images, you can zoom in on objects and look at things from different angles," says Dr. Norbert Maerz, associate professor of geological engineering at Missouri S&T -- an ability that we wish we had while browsing PlentyofFish.com.
3D maps demoed on Sony Ericsson X10, Snapdragon paying off
Ericsson Labs is showing off an API for navigating through a three-dimensional interpretation of the world based on real imagery powered by Saab spinoff (the defense firm, not the car company) C3 Technologies on Sony Ericsson's upcoming X10 -- and in a word, it's looking impressive. The buttons for controlling the action are a bit hokey, of course, but don't worry too much about that -- this is strictly a proof of concept, and the important thing is that no matter how much panning, tilting, and swooping through the cityscape the demo-giver does, video output stays above 30 frames per second. Thank goodness for Snapdragon, eh? There's no indication that we'll see a shipping version of this app on retail X10s out of the box, but let's hope something awesome comes of this. Follow the break for video.
NAVTEQ, Microsoft team up for better 3D maps
Microsoft already uses NAVTEQ maps in its products, and now it's going to start helping to make 'em better: the two companies have agreed to work together on new ways to collect, create, and store 3D map data and visuals. The basic idea seems to be for Microsoft to help NAVTEQ create better 3D mapping tools in return for supplying the data for Bing Maps, but NAVTEQ says whatever improvements are made will be rolled out to all its clients, so this should pretty much benefit everyone. P.S.- This is a pretty wonky note, but remember that NAVTEQ is wholly owned by Nokia (although it operates independently) so this is technically the second Microsoft / Nokia alliance announced in the past four months. Ah, young love.
Microsoft giving Bing Maps a 3D overhaul, tacking on apps for good measure
Google's not the only one in the game when it comes to wild mapping tech, and while Microsoft's excellent collection of bird's eye photos has never gotten it quite the attention of Google's Street View, the hope is that lasers and its much-lauded Photosynth tool can do the trick. Microsoft has done up a Street View-style canvassing of 56 US cities with cars that not only snap photos but include range-finding lasers to map out the architecture in 3D. The Silverlight-based viewer for this view (dubbed Streetside) is similar in interface to Google Maps, a tad slower, and rather visually impressive. In addition, Microsoft is leaning on its Photosynth technology to collect navigable panoramas of scenery and even building interiors. Finally, Microsoft has tacked on "apps" of sorts, little overlays that include traffic cameras, restaurants, a Twitter API and so forth. All of this coupled with an improved version of the bird's eye view is quite a visual treat, but the Silverlight requirement and non-Google-ness of it all might keep away the Bing-averse among us. But really, with all this tit-for-tat going on between Microsoft and Google, we have to wonder what sort of stone age we'd be stuck in if we didn't have these two behemoths going at each other like this. The "Beta" is live now at the source link. [Thanks, Aimee]
3D mapping drone fires lasers from a mile away (video)
The MIT Technology Review has unearthed a new laser-based 3D mapping robot that can produce results similar to those obtained from $100,000 systems at about a fifth of the cost. Funded by the US Army, researchers at the Stevens Institute of Technology have now demonstrated the Remotely Operated and Autonomous Mapping System (ROAMS, for short), which employs a mirror-based LIDAR system that bounces a laser off a rapidly rotating mirror and gleans environmental information from how long it takes for each pulse to bounce back. An array of video cameras and IR proximity sensors add to this recon bot's sentience, though you'll still need to be within a mile's range to operate it. So not quite yet ready for solo missions to Mars, but plenty useful for gathering data on our own planet. You'll find video and imagery of the results this machine kicks out after the break.
Laser scanning robot creates 3D map of silver mine
Apparently, Mexico is the place to be if you're a laser-equipped robot with 3D scanning on the brain. Just 11 months after the DepthX robotic submarine mapped the El Zacatón Cenote, the 3D-R1 has managed to collect over 5GB of map data in 3.5 days which was then used to create a "comprehensive 3D plan of the underground mining operation." The mine in question was the San Jose silver mine in Mexico, and while on duty, the robot scooted across some 2.2-kilometers of underground drives and access ramps in order to conduct over 240 total scans. There's no word on whether the mechanical creature is scheduled to map out any other nooks and crannies around the world, but given the accuracy exhibited in this run-through, we don't foresee it taking any kind of extended vacation.[Via Robots]
