Camera-Based Target Shot Analysis System
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current systems for providing shooters with feedback on their shooting accuracy fail to effectively display and analyze individual shots fired at a single physical target, as they either require complex and fragile light panels, replace live rounds with lasers, or do not account for masking previous shots, limiting the ability to assess and improve shooting skills.
Innovation Solution
A system comprising a camera, router, antenna, and computer with specific software that captures and displays images of a physical target, allowing each shot to be individually marked and analyzed, with the ability to alternate between images to highlight the most recent shot, and optionally includes a second camera to record the shooter's technique, enabling real-time monitoring and later review for training and certification purposes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If multiple shots are fired into a single paper target, then the shooter can practice with live rounds, but the target becomes saturated with holes making it difficult to determine the accuracy of the latest shot
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the visual information by capturing the target image and displaying individual shot locations separately. Each shot is identified and marked on a digital copy of the target, allowing the system to separate the latest shot information from previous shots. This enables the shooter to see each shot's accuracy individually without the visual clutter of multiple holes on the physical target.
Solution Approach 2:
The system creates a digital copy of the physical target and displays it on a screen. Instead of directly observing the physical target with multiple holes, the shooter views a replicated digital version where each shot can be individually highlighted and analyzed. This copying approach preserves all shot information while making the latest shot easily distinguishable.
2Measurement precision
If a light panel is used to detect bullet location and velocity, then shot feedback can be provided, but the system becomes complicated and fragile requiring maintenance of light-emitting sources
Solution Approach 1:
The system introduces a camera as an intermediary device to capture the target and shot information. Instead of using a complex light panel with multiple light-emitting sources, a single camera photographs the physical target, and image processing software extracts shot location and velocity data. This intermediary approach simplifies the hardware while maintaining measurement precision through digital image analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical light panel system with an optical-digital hybrid system. A camera captures the target image, and computer vision algorithms process the image to determine shot parameters. This substitution eliminates the need for delicate light-emitting components and their associated maintenance requirements, while achieving equivalent or superior measurement precision.
3Device complexity
If a camera captures images of the target to display shots, then shot analysis becomes simpler, but the ability to clearly distinguish the most recent shot from previous shots is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses color changes to distinguish the most recent shot from previous shots. When processing the captured target image, the software identifies the latest shot location and highlights it with a distinct color or visual marker different from previous shots. This color differentiation allows the shooter to immediately identify which shot is the most recent without complexity, while maintaining the simplicity of the camera-based capture system.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary processing of the captured image to identify and mark the latest shot before display. By pre-processing the image data to highlight the most recent shot, the system ensures that when the image is displayed on the screen, the latest shot is already distinguished and ready for analysis. This preliminary action eliminates the need for complex real-time differentiation during display.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention contemplates a system for improving shooting skill that includes a computer having an executable software program, a camera in electrical communication with a power source and being in data communication with the computer, a laser mounted to the camera, a tripod supporting the camera, a physical target arranged at a predetermined and selectable distance from the camera, a router for providing data communication means between the camera and the computer, a first antenna in data communication with the computer by means of the router, and a light source coupled to the camera.