In article ,
ess (phil hunt) writes:
On Thu, 18 Dec 2003 22:17:34 GMT, Derek Lyons wrote:
(phil hunt) wrote:
The problems listed above are information-processing problems, that
is, software problems. Does it really require billions of dollars to
solve these problems? I say no: a few small groups of really
competent programms can be many times more productive than how
software is traditionally written.

The issue isn't programmers Phil. The issue the massive amounts of
R&D to develop the information needed to specify the sensor that the
programmers will process the output of.

The sensors needed are visual and IR imaging. It doesn't require a
massive R&D program to determine that, or to decide which
combinations of number of pixels and widths of field of view are
appropriate.

It doess, however, require a massive R&D program to be able to
identify the target in the image - if you're lucky enough to have the
target in the Foeld of View of the sensor in the first place.
Recognizing the shape of, say, a vehicle, from an arbitrary distance
and aspect angle, even without the complications of camouflage, smoke,
or decoys, is far more difficulet than you are imagining.
You aren't even beginnig to consider th promlems involved with, say,
telling an Armored Personnel Carrier from a Dumpster, or an Atesian
Well Drilling Rig from a missile TEL.

The issue is the massive
amount of R&D needed to develop the algorithms the programmers will
implement to analyze the output of the sensor.

Do you know anything about programming? If you did, you'd know that
developing algorithms is what programmers do.

Oddly enough - I do. In fact, I've done developmnet work on Image
recognition for about 15 years out of a 25 year career as a Programmer
and Project Manager, much of it for just the purpose you describe.
Derek has far more of an understanding of the problem than you do.
It's actually easier to do what seem to be very difficult things -
like taking an image of a car's license plate as it travels on a
highway /2 mile away, than it is to identify the vehicle itself.

--
Pete Stickney
A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many
bad measures. -- Daniel Webster