616 results about "Weapon system" patented technology

A system and method for determining a position of a remote object comprising inertial sensors and three axis magnetic sensor, together with a target sighting device aligned with the observation platform to determine a target line of sight and a target range finder to determine a distance to the target along the line of sight. A GPS receiver may be included for determining an observation platform position and orientation, The three axis magnetic sensor provides both magnetic north and vertical attitude information for improved rapid initialization and operation in motion. Magnetic anomaly information is detected by comparing IMU and magnetic navigation information and by other methods. Target identification may be determined by a human operator and/or by computer. The system may be integrated with a weapon system to use weapon system sights. The system may be networked to provide target location and/or location error information to another identical unit or a command information system.

Wearable systems for providing situational awareness in battle or combat type conditions. More specially, modular, wearable, weapon integrated computer systems for gathering and transmitting data, wherein the systems include components tailorable for specific conditions or missions. Further provided are hardware and software for controlling such wearable systems and for communicating with remote system wearers.

The present invention provides an unpowered low-cost “smart” micromunition unit for a weapon system for defense against an asymmetric attack upon ships and sea or land based facilities. A plurality of air dropped micromunition units are each capable of detecting and tracking a plurality of maneuvering targets and of establishing a fast acting local area wireless communication network among themselves to create a distributed database stored in each deployed micromunition unit for sharing target and micromunition unit data. Each micromunition unit autonomously applies stored algorithms to data from the distributed database to select a single target for intercept and to follow an intercept trajectory to the selected target. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract that will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope of the claims.

The present invention is related to weapons systems. In particular, the present invention is directed to accessory attachment systems for rifles and small arms weapons that enable attached accessory devices to draw power from a central power source and communicate with the user and/or other devices.

A system and method for automatic weapon allocation and scheduling of the present invention. The inventive method includes the steps of providing data with respect to threats, weapons, weapon allocation options; weapon allocation rules; and temporally dependent constraints with respect thereto; evaluating the data; and temporally allocating the weapons to the threats automatically in accordance with the evaluation. The invention computes the optimal pairing and the best time to deploy each weapon system against threat(s) it is paired with in arriving at the pairing. This results in an optimal assignment where weapon resource constraints are not exceeded and therefore guarantee availability of sufficient resources for engagement of every threat that is paired with a weapon system.

An autonomous weapon system including weapon (9) and weapon mounting system (7, 8) operable to point the weapon (9) in accordance with input control signals. The weapon system includes a sensor (2) to acquire images and other data from a target zone and an image processor (3) to process acquired image data and identify potential targets (1) according to predetermined target identification criteria. Targeting system (4, 5) provides input control signals to the weapon mounting system (7, 8) to point the weapon (9) for firing at potential targets (1). A control system operates targeting system (4, 5) and fires the weapon (9) at selected targets (1) according to a predetermined of rules of engagement. The rules of engagement include combat, peacekeeping or policing scenarios. Remotely located operator (10) may amend the rules of engagement, or override the control system as required.

The present invention is related to weapons systems. In particular, the present invention is directed to accessory attachment systems for rifles and small arms weapons that enable attached accessory devices to draw power from a central power source and communicate with the user and/or other devices.

An unmanned range-programmable airburst weapon system provides automated tracking and prosecution of soft targets such as UAVs at close ranges. A range-programmable gun that fires airburst rounds and a seeker that images the target within a FOV are mounted on a gimbaled turret. A tracking controller is responsive to a target cue to point the seeker to acquire the target and to subsequent tracking commands from the seeker to maintain the target in the seeker's FOV. A fire controller is responsive to tracking commands and range-to-target measurements to compute a ballistic firing solution to range program an airburst round and to point and fire the gun so that the round explodes in mid-air at a predicted target position.

A helmet position measuring system for use in a predefined environment. The system includes a helmet-mounted illumination system for directing electromagnetic radiation of one or more wavelength from the helmet in one or more range of angles, a set of three or more passive reflectors deployed at fixed positions in the predefined environment to reflect electromagnetic radiation from the illumination system, a helmet-mounted imaging system sensitive to the one or more wavelength for deriving images of part of the predefined environment including electromagnetic radiation reflected from the reflectors, and a processing system associated with the imaging system for processing the images to identify regions of the images corresponding to the reflectors and hence to determine information relating to a position of the helmet within the predefined environment.

A system, apparatus and method for optimizing the conduct of a close-in air combat are disclosed. A computing device is operative in the analysis of a close-in air combat situation. The computing device stores and utilizes one or more aerial aircraft-specific, weapon systems-specific and close-in air combat-situation-specific information. The computing device is operative in the analysis of the current air combat situation (12) and in the generation of a flight control recommendation (40). Consequently, the recommendation is converted into an indication having visual or audio format to be communicated to the operating crew of the aerial vehicle. The recommendation could further to be converted into specific flight control/energy commands and to be introduced directly to the control systems of the aircraft.

This invention relates to a method, system and computer program product that monitors usage for man carried weapon systems; specifically a device to monitor ammunition level and weapon discharges through real time data collection, analysis and real time visual feedback to the operator. An ammunition level detecting system mounted on a projectile weapon comprising: A level measurement unit (LMU) and a Reader and Visualization Unit (RVU) and a PC Dongle which configured to facilitate communication between the RVU and a personal computer (PC), enabling management of the RVU configuration and offloading of sensor obtained and system determined data values.

Allows for the assignment of threat(s) to weapon(s) to allow operators to coordinate actions. Enables dynamic discovery and operation weapon(s), sensor(s) over a local or public network so available weapons can be selected by operators. Sensors may act as simulated weapons and may also reside in a video surveillance system (VSS). Sensors may be collocated or away from weapons which may differ in number. Sensors simulating weapons are transparently interchangeable with actual weapons. Simulated actors and events may be injected into system with operator gestures recorded for later analysis. Operator may control more than one weapon or sensor at a time. Operator user interface may be cloned onto another computer for real-time supervision or for later use. Integration of existing VSS with a network of remotely operated weapons or simulated weapons enables a passive video surveillance system upgrade to become a projector of lethal or non-lethal force.

A system, method and computer program product provides for integrating a sensor system data and a weapon system data with a graphical user interface (GUI) is provided. An area surrounding the mobile object on the GUI system is displayed. The respective locations of one or more sensed objects sensed by the sensor system in the area may be determined in response to a user selected sensor system input. The one or more sensed objects on the GUI system may be displayed. The weapon system may be targeted upon the one or more sensed objects in response to a user selected weapon system input.

A laser beam source and an operating method thereof is provided for a directional infrared countermeasures (DIRCM) weapon system for defensively countering guided missiles having infrared seeking heads, by directing an infrared laser beam at the guided missile so as to disorient, saturate, or irreversibly destroy the IR detectors and circuitry arranged in the target seeking head. The power, pulse frequency and spectral composition of the laser beam is adjustable and selectable as required to adapt to any particular defensive engagement. To achieve this, the laser beam source comprises an Nd:YAG pumping laser and an optical parametric oscillator including an oscillator crystal arranged in a resonator cavity. The crystal includes a plurality of different periodically polarized crystal zones having different lattice constants. The adjacent zones can be grouped together into selectable crystal zone groups. The beam cross-section of the pumping laser beam corresponds to the cross-section of a single crystal zone or of a crystal zone group encompassing plural zones. The crystal is arranged on a slide table that is slidably displaceable by a servomotor, to move a selected crystal zone or group into the path of the pumping laser beam. Thereby the wavelength components and the relative intensities thereof of the output laser beam can easily be selectively adjusted.

Embodiments of the invention enable the dynamic discovery and operation of at least one over a public network such as the Internet. The system may comprise dynamically discoverable sensors such as a video camera or video surveillance system or any other type of sensor capable of detecting a target. Sensors may be collocated or distantly located from weapons and there may be a different number of weapons and sensors in a configuration. An operator may control more than one weapon at a time and may obtain sensor data output from more than one sensor at a time. One or more weapons may be aimed simultaneously by performing a user gesture such as a mouse click or game controller button selection with respect to a particular sensor data output. An operator user interface may be cloned onto another computer for real-time supervision or for later analysis or training for example.

The present invention is related to weapons systems. In particular, the present invention is directed to accessory attachment systems for rifles and small arms weapons that enable attached accessory devices to draw power from a central power source and communicate with the user and/or other devices.

An integrated evaluation and simulation system interactively evaluates concept design decisions and design requirements in the context of an operational weapon system. The combat effectiveness of a weapon system may also be concurrently tested by virtual simulation. A computer system is programmed to implement a causal network model comprising an integrated collection of analysis models for creating a virtual representation of a weapon system. The integrated evaluation and simulation system includes a user interface operably coupled to at least the computer system to selectively input data into the causal network model and receive information from the causal network model and at least one virtual simulation system. The system further includes either a virtual simulation system operably coupled to the causal network model or, as part of the computer system, a virtual simulation system interface to communicate with a virtual simulation system.

Methods for detecting areas of interest in an image using combined edge magnitude and edge direction analysis techniques are presented. One embodiment features using thermal imaging data to detect hotspots in maritime settings that may be potential targets for tracking or weapons systems. The edge magnitude and edge direction data are derived from the intensity image and then combined with the intensity image and analyzed morphologically to remove noise and background elements. The combined image data is then selectively filtered to remove horizontal non-target elements and then analyzed further against target size information to determine which detected and analyzed hotspots are valid targets. Another embodiment features receiving as input an intensity image along with its associated edge magnitude and edge direction images, which have both been created by a means outside the detection method. Yet another embodiment features a detection method that does not selectively filter out horizontal image elements.

The invention discloses a data distribution service (DDS) communication system. The system uses a publishing/subscribing communication mode and comprises a plurality of publishers, a plurality of subscribers, a plurality of middle pieces, a register data type module, a generation topic module, a publishing data module, a seeking topic module, a subscribing topic module and a receiving data module; one publisher firstly calls the register data type module, returns the module after succeeding in calling the module, and then calls the generation topic module to generate a topic on the middle pieces; one subscriber discovers the topic on a network by seeking the topic module, and then calls the subscribing topic module to subscribe the topic; and the publisher calls the publishing data module to send data to the middle pieces when receiving words of subscribing the topic, and the subscriber receives the data on the middle pieces through the receiving data module. The DDS communication system is high in real time performance and very applicable to various radar weapon systems which are high in requirement of real time performances and large in handling capacity.

Embodiments of the invention enable an operator to interact with a video surveillance system comprising at least one sensor. The sensor may be configured to operate as a simulated weapon, or may be replaced by or augmented with a real weapon and in either case the simulated or real weapon is controlled over a network. The network may comprise the local video surveillance network or a network linking with a remotely operated weapon system. The integration of an existing video surveillance system with a network of remotely operated weapons and/or weapon simulators enables use of the resources of either system by the other system and enables a passive video surveillance system to become an active projector of lethal or non-lethal force.

A weapon system and corresponding ammunition for causing less-than-lethal effects to a target employ a projectile fired from a rifle-mounted, rifle-operated or dedicated rifle-like device and configured for generating less-than-lethal effects to a human target. The projectile includes a rocket motor configured to mitigate velocity decay of the projectile. The rocket motor is preferably a sustainer motor for maintaining a roughly constant cruise velocity of the projectile.