Another article from back in June, this time posted by New Scientist. Basically, it talks about a concept for astronauts wearing spacesuits with “geology skills built in.” The prototype consists of a hand-held video camera connected to a wearable computer, but later versions may link the camera to a head-up display within an astronaut’s visor [...] the prototype flags up anything a geologist might find interesting, based on its unusual or distinctive appearance [...] The team tested the system in Guadalajara province in central Spain, using it to scout for evidence of sandstone beds deposited by water. The system agreed with human geologists 68 per cent of the time. That’s funny. Sometimes I feel that’s about how often I agree with my geology professors on exams.
Sphere: Related Content
Similar Posts on Geology News:
- Geology Picture of the Day - Bechuan County, Sichuan Province in China
- Earthquake Rocks Japan
- Deadly Phillipine Landslide
- IAU’s “Plutons” making geologists mad.
- Snowball Earth Theory Undermined?
1 comment
Thursday, July 21, 2005 at 3:10 am
Yorrike
Imagine field trips wearing one of these. Not that I don’t enjoy mapping huge areas of geology, but there’s times when a hint from a robot or computer would have been appreciated.
For example earlier this year I was trekking up a river with a fellow student. We found most major points our lecturer wanted us to, except for a section of fault gouge that ran along the trend of a large fault. We knew the fault was there, but only due to the topography. Turns out, the gouge was obscured because the only place it outcropped without a long session of bush-whacking was in the river, under water, in a ~20cm band.
I know this thing probably wouldn’t have helped, but it makes you think about the possibilities : ) Even a pair of goggles that allowed you to view bedding inverted or in UV would show things you’d otherwise miss.