From Jason Kottke:
Geoff Manaugh of BLDGBLOG ruminates on optical calibration targets, weird landscape relics scattered across military bases made to check the resolution of cold war era photograph-snapping spy planes. You can find one target on Google Maps here.
"Although I am truly fascinated by what sorts of optical landmarks might yet be developed for field-testing the optical capabilities of drones, as if the world might soon be peppered with opthalmic infrastructure for self-training autonomous machines, it is also quite intriguing to realize that these calibration targets are, in effect, ruins, obsolete sensory hold-overs from an earlier age of film-based cameras and less-powerful lenses. Calibrating nothing, they are now just curious emblems of a previous generation of surveillance technology, robot-readable hieroglyphs whose machines have all moved on."
Comments
Martin, Judging by where that is relating to Edwards Air Force Base and the bombing range I'm going to hazard a guess: NO!
China have been doing some interesting stuff for the last few years on i giant scale http://g.co/maps/aqdar
Would we be allowed to fly over to check our cameras, it's a bit of a hike for us in the UK though!
@Harry - haha. so boring but still so funny. Best comment in years! :)
Got to admit, Edwards is sort of where you might expect to find it.
OK, read the third line again.
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