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DARPA's 3-D Surveillance Experiments Take a Page from Pandora

by Caleb Johnson on January 25, 2010 at 03:35 PM

Since James Cameron completed 'Avatar' he's probably looking for another project to occupy years of his life. (We're sorry if it makes you depressed to hear that it's really over). Instead of wasting time on another overrated technology demo posing as cinema, we think Cameron should use his talents for something a little more worthwhile. What could be better than a government-funded military project, for instance?

According to Wired, the weird, science-y arm of the military, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is seeking proposals for optical imaging system prototypes that would use "advanced high-resolution 3-D imaging technology." Mr. Cameron, are you listening? It's part of the mysterious agency's new Fine Detail Optical Surveillance (FDOS) program, which aims to provide troops and unmanned planes with better and more mobile 3-D surveillance systems. Here's what they're looking for in a prototype: the ability to identify moving targets at different ranges, in high resolution, and with minimal scanning and refocusing. The prototype would need to be able to do this while monitoring a wider surveillance zone than can current surveillance technology, which could make finding targets as tough as finding "a needle moving along the surface of a haystack." Oh yeah, DARPA wants this dream machine to be compact and mobile, too, unlike current 3-D systems that are cumbersome in the field.

So there you go, Mr. Cameron. It's a 'Titanic' call to arms, but a military system in an avatar body? Gives us the goosebumps. [From: Wired]

Tags: 3d, avatar, darpa, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, DefenseAdvancedResearchProjectsAgency, james cameron, military, pandora, surveillance, top

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