Virtual reality (VR) was once called the big idea in ICT, but no commercial applications were discovered during the years of research. VR now has been replaced by a new concept: augmented reality (AR). AR stands in the real (not virtual) world, adding digital value to what people see around them.
AR software has been created which can locate and recognise objects, instantly labelling them with relevant information obtained from the web.
Combining data from a camera, GPS, tilt sensors, digital compass and wireless broadband, it can determine exactly what is being looked at. Once the object has been identified, the internet is searched for relevant information. Once retrieved, the information is displayed as a label superimposed on the image.
When pointed at a mountain, for example, the device adds its name, height and other information to its image. The equipment can also find a nearby friend in the street, or guide you to a destination like a SatNav.
In the past, only static data (e.g. from Wikipedia) was used for the labels. More recently, ways of retrieving live data (such as aircraft departure times) have been developed.
Current research is being carried out into methods of building social networks into the system, so that you can see live information about the people when the camera is pointed at them (if their smartphone is also switched on).
The small size of the smartphone screen, however, is still a problem, and more work needs to be done to solve it.
In the future, the main areas of research are likely to give smartphones the ability to find people’s locations anywhere in the world and to provide relevant information about everyone you point your camera at.
Task 6. a) Read the article. What words or ideas do the reference pronouns 1-6 refer to? b) Prepare a bilingual glossary based on the terms and special words in the article. Translate the text into Russian. Comment on the translation techniques and transformations you applied.
New Developments in Oil Mining Technology
Smart Oil Fields
If an oil company discovers a large single reservoir of oil and gas, the solution is simple: drill a vertical well down to the reservoir and bring up the oil. But what can be done when an oilfield consists of hundreds or even thousands of small, isolated pockets of oil? It would be too expensive to drill hundreds of vertical wells to reach all the small pockets.
The innovative solution to this problem is the ‘snake well’. Unlike the conventional vertical well, this (1) is a horizontal well that weaves laterally back and forth across a number of oil-containing zones. Guided by smart technology, a single snake well can access multiple pockets of oil and achieve output equivalent to several individual wells, which (2) has the dual advantage of reducing cost and ensuring that no oil is overlooked.
A snake well uses steerable drills that (3) can be positioned with great accuracy. Special imaging software generates detailed computer models of underground geology and reservoirs. This (4) enables drills to hit a target far underground that is less than two metres across.
Located 90 km off the coast of Brunei, the Champion West oilfield is Shell’s flagship project using Smart Fields technology. For 30 years, Champion West lay dormant, its rich oil reserves locked 2,000 to 4,000 m beneath the seabed in a complex web of small reservoirs (see illustration above).
In the past, these small pockets of oil were too expensive to develop. But now Champion West has been changed into one of the world’s most advanced oil and gas fields by means of Smart Fields technology and new drilling techniques.
Buried deep beneath Champion West’s seabed, sensors relay digital information about temperature, pressure and other factors to control centres on land by means of a network of fibre-optic cables.
This (5) enables continuous monitoring of production, and engineers can make speedy decisions on how best to extract the maximum amount of oil, monitor its movement within the reservoir and instantly notice production problems, such as blockages.
They (6) can take action to solve problems, for example by the remote electronic activation of hydraulic well valves. If gas or water threatens to break into the well, for example, the valve for that section can be closed down using a remote control. Swellable seals are used to isolate the zones from one another, and prevent fluid from one zone from flowing into another adjacent zone.