/ News
The drones of oil
Geologists have long used seismology on the bottom of the ocean or have been throwing dynamite from snowmobiles when they look for oil. But now researchers at Centre for integrated petroleum research (CIPR), a joint venture between the University of Bergen (UiB) and Uni Research, have found a new preferred method – using drones to map new oil reserves from the air.
– In reality the drones can be viewed as an advanced camera tripod, which helps geologists to map inaccessible land in an efficient manner. The use of drones facilitates our efforts to define the geology and to find oil, says researcher Aleksandra Sima at CIPR about the drone that she and her fellow researchers have just acquired to take aerial shots of rocks.
Virtual fieldwork
Sima is a member of CIPR’s Virtual Outcrop Geology (VOG) group. The group’s main task is to create digital maps in 3D of potential oil fields. Using laser scanners, infrared sensors and digital cameras, the researchers create realistic, virtual models. Every tiny pixel of an image can store information on minerals and rocks.
These high-tech models help the geologists to criss-cross the landscape, not unlike what you will find on Google Earth. This virtual fieldwork enables the researchers to gather information on anything from the type of rock to the thickness of the sedimentation; all with the help of a few mouse clicks on the computer.
– A landscape’s surface often reflects what lies beneath ground and corresponds with the rocks below the seabed. When we have an overview of the rocks and minerals in one area, it is far easier to make estimates about where to find oil and how the oil flows, says Simon Buckley, senior researcher at CIPR and head of the VOG group.
Quick and affordable
So far, the researchers have used ground-based laser scanners (LIDAR), infrared sensors and cameras to replicate the landscape. But putting instruments on the ground is both time-consuming and limited to lower ground areas.
In higher elevations in the shadows of sensors, for instance behind rocks or high mountains, the researchers have had to mount the cameras and laser sensors to helicopters, which they have leased.
– Using drones is more affordable. All places can be reached quickly and you can shoot in inaccessible areas, Buckley explains.
Pictures shot with the help of a drone complement the images from low-level terrain that the researchers already have in hand. The end result is more precise and complete 3D models.
– The aim is to bring all models together to get the best possible geological map of an area, says Buckley.
The use of drones in the search for oil is similar to techniques used in Switzerland and Germany to look for minerals. The models created by the CIPR researchers can also be used for research on CO2 storage.
– It isn’t hard to collect a point cloud of laser readings and present these. The challenge is to use the data for geological analysis, Buckley points out.
A helicopter in the office
The drone is operated from the ground just like a radio-controlled plane, shooting images of the earth’s surface from the air. The pilot on the ground also operates the camera.
There are plenty of restrictions in place, though, and not anyone can fly a drone. Norwegian aviation authorities put strict regulations on anyone wanting to use drones for research. Aleksandra Sima has been practising in a flight simulator and has tested mini helicopters in her office.
– The worst thing that can happen is that a drone crashes and hurts people, says Sima before reassuringly adding. – But we won’t be flying drones in populated areas.
(Translation: Sverre Ole Drønen.)
Source: http://www.uib.no/news/nyheter/2013/05/the-drones-of-oil
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Founded by Russian entrepreneur Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 with the participation of leading Russian specialists in the field of neural interfaces, robotics, artificial organs and systems.
The main goals of the 2045 Initiative: the creation and realization of a new strategy for the development of humanity which meets global civilization challenges; the creation of optimale conditions promoting the spiritual enlightenment of humanity; and the realization of a new futuristic reality based on 5 principles: high spirituality, high culture, high ethics, high science and high technologies.
The main science mega-project of the 2045 Initiative aims to create technologies enabling the transfer of a individual’s personality to a more advanced non-biological carrier, and extending life, including to the point of immortality. We devote particular attention to enabling the fullest possible dialogue between the world’s major spiritual traditions, science and society.
A large-scale transformation of humanity, comparable to some of the major spiritual and sci-tech revolutions in history, will require a new strategy. We believe this to be necessary to overcome existing crises, which threaten our planetary habitat and the continued existence of humanity as a species. With the 2045 Initiative, we hope to realize a new strategy for humanity's development, and in so doing, create a more productive, fulfilling, and satisfying future.
The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics, living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.
An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.
Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society
2015-2020
The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "brain-computer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.
2020-2025
Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact brain will be able to return to a fully functioning bodily life. Such technologies will greatly enlarge the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make all kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.
2030-2035
Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness with the subsequent development of means to transfer individual consciousness onto an artificial carrier. This development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence, expand human capabilities and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain multiple times. The final result at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.
2045
This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive! Changes will occur in all spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology, sciences, and so on.
Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots will become affordable and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled matter. One thing is clear however: humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover, prerequisites for a large-scale expansion into outer space will be created as well.
Key elements of the project in the future
• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of the project of "Immortality”.
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