Imaging Seeker for Spin-Stabilized Projectile Guidance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional spin-stabilized artillery projectiles face accuracy issues due to launch errors, wind, and GPS degradation, leading to significant miss distances and reduced effectiveness in target engagements.
Innovation Solution
An imaging seeker system for spin-stabilized projectiles that uses a forward-looking imager to obtain a time-sequence of images, processes these images to identify targets, and generates course-correction signals based on the target's relative position to guide the projectile accurately.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If GPSR is used for autonomous control, then position and velocity data are provided for GNC use, but accuracy is limited by GPS errors and degradation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces an imaging seeker as an intermediary system that provides an alternative method for measuring target position and projectile velocity. Instead of relying solely on GPSR, the imaging seeker captures images of the target and uses image processing to determine relative position, while gyroscopic sensors measure spin rate to calculate velocity. This intermediary system bypasses GPS jamming and provides reliable measurement data for autonomous control.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the measurement parameters from GPS-based absolute position and velocity to imaging-based relative position and gyroscopic-based spin rate. By measuring the target's position relative to the projectile's rotation center and using the known spin rate to calculate velocity, the system achieves accurate measurements without depending on GPS signals, thereby maintaining reliability under enemy jamming conditions.
2Measurement precision
If course-correcting capabilities are added to improve first round accuracy, then trajectory corrections are provided, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The imaging seeker serves multiple functions within a single integrated device. It provides target acquisition by capturing images, target tracking by identifying the target across sequential images, and measurement of relative position and velocity. This multi-functional approach consolidates what would otherwise require separate systems, thereby improving targeting accuracy while limiting the increase in overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The imaging seeker system is self-sufficient in determining target position and velocity without requiring external GPS signals or additional specialized sensors. By using the imager combined with the projectile's inherent gyroscopic motion, the system performs self-measurement of critical parameters, reducing the need for complex external support systems and simplifying the overall GNC architecture.
3Reliability
If more projectiles are fired to compensate for miss distances, then target engagement effectiveness is maintained, but time and supply chain requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The imaging seeker provides continuous feedback during flight by capturing sequential images of the target and calculating the projectile's relative position and velocity. This real-time feedback enables the GNC system to make mid-flight trajectory corrections, ensuring that the first round (or subsequent rounds) hits the target accurately. By providing this feedback mechanism, the system eliminates the need to fire multiple rounds to compensate for poor initial accuracy, thereby reducing the time required for target engagement while maintaining effectiveness.
Data Source
AI summary
Apparatus and associated methods relate to determining a course-correction signal for a spin-stabilized projectile based on a time sequence of images of a scene aligned with and obtained by a forward-looking imager coupled to the projectile. As the projectile rotates, the aligned scenes captured in the images obtained by the forward-looking imager are rotated. The rotation angle of each of the captured scenes corresponds to the spin angle of the projectile at the time of image exposure. Objects in the captured scenes will circle about a rotation center of the time-sequence images. The distances from a rotation center to the objects in the captured scenes, as well as the rotation angles of the captured scenes can be used to generate a course-correction signal so that the projectile can be guided to a target selected from the objects in the captured scene.