Mapping the dead 為海格特公墓繪制電子地圖

本集內容

學習要點

有關 “burial（埋葬）” 的詞匯

邊看邊答

How fast does Pete’s laser backpack take measurements?

文字稿

Resting place to hundreds of historical figures, Highgate Cemetery is known all over the world – but not everyone here is famous.

這裡是數百位歷史人物的安息地，海格特公墓世界聞名，但並不是埋葬在這裡的人都是名人。

Amongst this growing sea of ivy are thousands of headstones – some that haven’t been seen in years. For many, this is what makes Highgate beautiful. But finding relatives’ graves here can be tricky.

在這片長得越來越茂密的常春藤當中，有成千上萬的墓碑，有些墓碑多年都未露出。對許多人來說，這就是海格特公墓的美麗之處。但是在這裡找親人的墳墓可不容易。

Well, today some of them are being rediscovered through a process of careful clearing, which tries to keep the character of the cemetery. The ivy has been removed from some of these headstones – not only to protect them from decay – but also to allow them to be mapped digitally for the first time.

今天，在試圖保持墓地特征的基礎上，通過認真仔細的清理後，一些墓碑重新露出。這些墓碑上的常春藤已經被清除，這不僅是為瞭保護它們免受腐蝕，也是為瞭讓它們能夠首次被繪制在電子地圖上。

This is Pete. His backpack uses lasers, which can’t be seen, to take three hundred thousand measurements a second. It also has five cameras taking pictures constantly. The information is uploaded online, and eventually a digital map comes to life.

這是皮特。他的背包使用激光，這是看不到的，每秒測量30萬次。背包裡還有五個攝像頭在不停地拍照。這些信息會被上傳到網上，最終一張電子地圖就生成瞭。

Tim Viney, Chairman, Atlantic Geomatics
Highgate is, as you can see, is a pretty tough location. From a mapping perspective, vegetation can be our biggest nightmare. There are paths – but there are also areas that are very difficult to access – so we have to be very careful from a health and safety perspective.

蒂姆·瓦伊尼 Atlantic Geomatics 公司主席
“海格特公墓，正如你所看到的，是一個非常難測量的地點。從繪制地圖的角度來說，植被是我們最怕遇到的東西。雖然這裡有一些小路，但也有一些區域很難進入，所以從健康和安全的角度來說，我們必須非常小心。”

Over the last year, Tim and his team have now mapped more than half the cemetery. And already – the new system is helping.

去年，蒂姆和他的團隊已經把超過一半的墓地繪制進瞭電子地圖。這個新地圖已經開始起作用瞭。

Ian Dungavell , CEO, Friends of Highgate Cemetery Trust
It’s wonderful that new technology can enable us to do this in a way that just isn’t possible with old paper records.

伊恩·鄧加維爾海格特公墓信托之友首席執行官
“令人驚嘆的是，新技術可以使我們做到這一點，而這是舊的紙質記錄無法做到的。”

Over the next year – there will be more mapping and only the most essential plant clearing, meaning more of this incredible part of London is accessible for generations to come.

在接下來的一年裡，繪制地圖的工作仍將繼續，隻有必須要清理的植物才會被清除，這意味著倫敦這片美麗的區域將會有更多的地方可供後人使用。