Ventriloquial Effect Field Wavefront Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electronic countermeasures in projectile defense systems, such as jamming and deceptive signal transmission, face challenges in deceiving opposing forces about the location of the source without revealing the platform's identity, as they create wavefronts that point back to the source, aiding the opposing forces in determining the direction of the signal source.
Innovation Solution
The Ventriloquial Effect Field (VEF) technique uses multiple independent and controllable field sources to create a field anomaly at a target location, skewing the wavefront orientation to a desired angle, making it appear as if the source is located elsewhere by adjusting signal parameters and phases to achieve the desired wavefront orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional jamming or deceptive signals are transmitted, then the sensor receives strong signals, but the wavefronts point back to the source location, revealing the platform's position
Solution Approach 1:
The system divides the countermeasure signal into multiple independent controllable sources (at least three sources) that can be individually controlled in terms of phase and amplitude. This segmentation allows each source to contribute to creating a composite wavefield with specific properties, enabling the ventriloquial effect where the apparent source location differs from the actual source locations
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the phase parameters of signals from different sources according to specific mathematical relationships. By adjusting phase differences and path length ratios, the system creates a ventriloquial field anomaly that skews wavefront orientation at the target location, making the sensor deduce an incorrect source direction while maintaining signal strength for effective countermeasure
2Loss of information
If multiple independent field sources are used to create ventriloquial effect, then source location deception is achieved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system uses a unified mathematical model (condition function involving path distance ratios and phase angle differences) that governs the behavior of multiple sources. This universal relationship allows the system to control the ventriloquial effect across different operating conditions and target locations using the same fundamental principles, reducing the need for source-specific complex control mechanisms
Solution Approach 2:
The system achieves complex spatial control effects by primarily adjusting phase parameters and signal amplitudes of existing sources, rather than requiring complex physical reconfiguration. This parameter-based control simplifies the system architecture compared to mechanically reconfigurable systems, as phase and amplitude adjustments can be implemented through standard signal processing techniques
Data Source
AI summary
An apparatus and method is described for generating an electromagnetic, or acoustic field by use of a number of field sources in order to produce a field anomaly at a known target location. The field anomaly is characterized by having a wavefront at the target location that has a predetermined desired orientation so that at the target location the field appears to emanate from a different direction to that perceived at field locations away from the target.