Visual Automated Scoring System for Naval Firepower
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional methods for assessing the accuracy of naval gunfire are cumbersome, prone to inaccuracies, and difficult to implement, especially in field conditions where visual impairments or hazardous environments limit human observers' ability to triangulate impact sites.
Innovation Solution
A visual automated scoring system (VASS) using video photography to track targets, detect impact points, and compute miss distances, enabling computerized accuracy assessment in both Line of Sight (LOS) and Non Line of Sight (NLOS) modes, which provides feedback to correct and direct gunfire.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If conventional methods using theodolites or hydroacoustic buoys are used to triangulate the fall-of-a-shot, then weapon accuracy can be assessed, but the systems are cumbersome, error-prone, and difficult to implement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces mechanical triangulation systems (theodolites, hydroacoustic buoys) with an optical-computational system using video cameras and image processing. The mechanical complexity of deploying and maneuvering physical instrumentation is substituted with electronic image capture and automated coordinate transformation algorithms, dramatically reducing device complexity while maintaining or improving measurement precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent creates a visual copy of the impact scene through video photography. Instead of physically measuring the impact location with complex instrumentation, the system captures an optical copy (video image) of the target area and processes it computationally to determine impact coordinates, simplifying the overall system while preserving measurement accuracy.
2Productivity
If human forward observers are deployed to assess weapon accuracy in the field, then real-time feedback can be provided, but visual impairments and hazardous conditions limit their ability to see targets
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes human visual observation with automated video camera systems and image processing algorithms. The biological limitation of human vision (affected by weather, dust, debris) is replaced by electronic sensors and computational analysis that can process images under various environmental conditions, improving both reliability and productivity of target detection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces video cameras and image processing software as intermediaries between the weapon system and the human operators. This intermediary system captures and analyzes the impact scene, transforming it into processed image data that can be reliably interpreted even when direct human visual observation is impaired by environmental conditions.
3Measurement precision
If conventional triangulation methods are used, then impact location can be determined, but positioning information of buoys must be precisely known which is not possible in rough waters
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical positioning system (hydroacoustic buoys requiring precise known positions) with an optical reference system using video cameras mounted on stable platforms. The system uses visual references (target, impact site, and reference objects) captured in images to establish coordinates, eliminating the need for precise pre-positioning of physical instruments and making the system adaptable to rough water conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the fundamental parameters used for location determination from physical position coordinates (requiring precise buoy positioning) to visual image coordinates (pixel positions in video frames). This parameter transformation allows the system to determine impact location based on relative positions within the image frame rather than absolute geographic coordinates, greatly improving adaptability to environmental conditions.
Data Source
AI summary
A visual automated score system (VASS) is provided to enable computerized accuracy assessment of weapons systems through video photography. Images are fed into a computer which tracks the intended target, detects impact points and then provides human operators with an automatically computed miss distance based on the cross-correlation of at least two video images. The VASS may then provide feedback to the weapons system to correct and direct gunfire.