Gunshot Location via Virtual Sensors and Echo Processing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional weapon fire location systems struggle with accurately determining the source of gunfire in urban settings due to refraction, reflection, and blockage caused by buildings, which are not effectively addressed by existing technologies.
Innovation Solution
The use of virtual sensors created by acoustically reflecting surfaces, such as buildings and ground, to augment the acoustic array by incorporating echo paths, allowing for improved range and angular resolutions without the need for additional physical sensors, and the integration of pseudo-sensors to simplify location computation using a mixed set of times of arrival and angles of arrival.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If traditional sensor arrays are used for gunshot location, then the system structure is simple, but the measurement precision deteriorates due to refraction, reflection, and blockage by buildings
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual sensors by copying the acoustic field through echo paths. Reflecting surfaces such as buildings and ground create virtual images of the gunshot source, and these virtual sensor positions are calculated based on the reflection geometry. This allows the system to achieve improved location accuracy without physically deploying additional sensors in difficult-to-reach positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces reflecting surfaces (buildings, ground) as intermediaries that create echo paths between the gunshot source and physical sensors. These intermediaries provide additional measurement paths that are not blocked by urban structures, enabling the system to overcome the limitations of direct acoustic paths in dense urban environments.
2Measurement precision
If more physical sensors are deployed to improve location accuracy, then the measurement precision improves, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual sensors by copying the acoustic field through echo paths. Reflecting surfaces such as buildings and ground create virtual images of the gunshot source, and these virtual sensor positions are calculated based on the reflection geometry. This allows the system to achieve improved location accuracy without physically deploying additional sensors in difficult-to-reach positions.
3Measurement precision
If more physical sensors are deployed to improve angular resolution, then the measurement precision improves, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual sensors by copying the acoustic field through echo paths. Reflecting surfaces such as buildings and ground create virtual images of the gunshot source, and these virtual sensor positions are calculated based on the reflection geometry. This allows the system to achieve improved location accuracy without physically deploying additional sensors in difficult-to-reach positions.
4Measurement precision
If echo paths are incorporated to improve location accuracy, then the measurement precision improves, but the difficulty of detecting and measuring increases due to signal processing complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent creates virtual sensors by copying the acoustic field through echo paths. Reflecting surfaces such as buildings and ground create virtual images of the gunshot source, and these virtual sensor positions are calculated based on the reflection geometry. This allows the system to achieve improved location accuracy without physically deploying additional sensors in difficult-to-reach positions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex multi-sensor physical deployments with a simpler sensor array augmented by virtual sensors calculated through acoustic reflection principles. Instead of mechanically deploying sensors in optimal positions, the system uses computational acoustics to create virtual sensor positions based on known reflecting surfaces, substituting mechanical complexity with computational processing.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach enhances the accuracy of weapon fire location determination by utilizing reflections to create virtual sensors that emulate a larger array, enabling superior azimuthal resolution and calculation of source location, even at distances where direct measurements are ambiguous, and allows for the determination of horizontal and vertical velocities of moving sources.
Implementation Method 1
The use of virtual sensors created by acoustically reflecting surfaces, such as buildings and ground, to augment the acoustic array by incorporating echo paths
Data Source
AI summary
Systems and methods are disclosed for processing weapon fire information such as gunfire. In one exemplary implementation, there is provided a method of processing gunshot information to determine source location information involving echo/reflection processing features. Moreover, the method may include processing gunshot information received from a source at a sensor having a reflecting surface at a given distance, processing direct arrival time and echo arrival time information, and determining source location information as a function of a virtual sensor calculated behind the surface.