GP might have meant that the researchers are veiling their actual goal, in the vein of "detecting humans in drone feeds and autonomously dropping bandages on them for search and rescue"

'The answer appears to be yes. Both Arabic qanāt and Greek kánna are related to the Akkadian qanû, meaning "reed". The Greek word became latin canna for cane, then canalis for pipe or channel. See this entry in the Etymological Dictionary of Arabic for more: https://www2.hf.uio.no/polyglotta/index.php?page=record&view... on May 18, 2016 | parent | prev | next [–]It's the exact same thing.For example, Suez Canal is called "Qanat al-Suez" in Arabic.' https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11719441