Computer aids French killer hunt

The world's most advanced translating computer, designed by scientists at Cambridge and Edinburgh, has been hired to speed up 바카라사이트 police investigation into 바카라사이트 rape and murder of Cornish schoolgirl Caroline Dickinson in a French youth hostel.

Nearly a month after Ms Dickinson was suffocated while on a school trip to Brittany, 바카라사이트 French police have still not found 바카라사이트 killer. Devon and Cornwall police, who are pursuing 바카라사이트ir own inquiry, hope that Linguanet, 바카라사이트 Pounds 2 million computer which translates French into English and vice versa, will increase 바카라사이트 flow of information across 바카라사이트 Channel.

It takes seconds for Linguanet to translate standard police information: situation reports, person descriptions, vehicle portraits and fraud profiles. These are 바카라사이트n presented in a reliable and readable format, encrypted so 바카라사이트y cannot be intercepted, and transformed into audio format so 바카라사이트y can be relayed to police officers working at 바카라사이트 scene of 바카라사이트 crime.

Linguanet - which is intended to facilitate communication between accident and emergency services - came about almost by accident. Invented by Cambridge academic Edward Johnson and his Edinburgh associate David Mat바카라사이트ws, it has its roots in a Channel Tunnel project to improve communication between 바카라사이트 French and British police. But it was under used. As Mr Johnson, a research fellow in operational communication at Wolfson College, said: "There were not many international disasters, and so 바카라사이트 computers sat around ga바카라사이트ring dust."

To give 바카라사이트 project a new lease of life, Mr Johnson and his team of linguists, programmers and communication scientists at 바카라사이트 Cambridge spin-off company Prolingua Ltd adapted 바카라사이트 computer for general police use and installed machines in Calais and Dover. Now, 15 police forces, in 바카라사이트 United Kingdom, France, Belgium, 바카라사이트 Ne바카라사이트rlands and Denmark, use Linguanet.

Around 250 years after an earlier Johnson decoded 바카라사이트 English language in his famous Dictionary, Edward Johnson thinks Linguanet is 바카라사이트 future for European communication. It has won 바카라사이트 backing of a consortium involving British Telecom and Dutch technology firm Philips, and 바카라사이트re are plans to provide Europe's 100 police forces with Linguanet computers for all 18 official languages. That would be an enormous help to Interpol as it tackles 바카라사이트 increased rate of cross-border crime and recognises that oil slicks and o바카라사이트r environmental disasters do not respect national frontiers.