Wearable Blast Sensor Array for Pressure Source Localization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing wearable blast sensors are limited by unidirectional measurements, inadequate sampling rates, and poor ingress protection, restricting their ability to accurately determine the directionality of blast waves and capture high-fidelity pressure data necessary for precise injury assessment and localization.
Innovation Solution
A Multi-Sensor Wearable Device (MSWD) integrating pressure transducers, inertial sensors, and navigational sensors, utilizing time-based, amplitude-based methodologies, and machine learning techniques to calculate the direction of pressure events, distinguishing between incident and reflected pressures, and adjusting readings based on sensor orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If unidirectional measurements are used in wearable blast sensors, then device simplicity is maintained, but the ability to determine directionality of blast waves is lost
Solution Approach 1:
The sensor system is segmented into multiple pressure transducers arranged in a specific geometric configuration (e.g., tetrahedral arrangement with four sensors). Each sensor measures pressure independently, and the collective data from all segments enables three-dimensional localization and directionality determination of blast waves, resolving the contradiction between simple device structure and precise directional measurement.
Solution Approach 2:
The measurement capability is extended from unidirectional (single dimension) to three-dimensional spatial localization by adding pressure transducers at different spatial positions. This dimensional expansion allows the system to determine not only pressure magnitude but also the direction and location of blast wave sources, transforming a simple pressure gauge into a sophisticated localization system.
2Measurement precision
If high sampling rates are implemented to capture high-fidelity blast pressure data, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity and power consumption increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts and prioritizes only the most critical pressure data parameters (peak pressure, impulse, rise time) from the continuous high-rate sampling stream. By focusing on these key extracted features rather than processing every sampled data point, the system maintains high measurement fidelity while reducing the computational burden and device complexity associated with processing massive datasets.
3Measurement precision
If multiple sensors are integrated in a wearable device to enable directional analysis, then measurement precision improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple pressure transducers, inertial sensors, and navigational sensors are merged into a single integrated wearable device housing. The sensors are positioned at fixed, known locations relative to each other (e.g., vertices of a tetrahedron), creating a compact multi-sensor array that enables three-dimensional pressure source localization through triangulation and time-difference-of-arrival calculations, achieving precise directional analysis without requiring a bulky or complex device structure.
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
Enables accurate localization of pressure sources by providing precise directional analysis, enhancing injury prediction and safety protocols, and optimizing response strategies through comprehensive pressure event characterization.
Implementation Method 1
The present disclosure utilizes a Multi-Sensor Wearable Device (MSWD) that incorporates at least one pressure transducer
Implementation Method 2
The MSWD can incorporate inertial sensors and navigational sensors
Implementation Method 3
utilizing time-based, amplitude-based methodologies, and machine learning techniques to calculate the direction of pressure events
Data Source
AI summary
The uniqueness of the present invention is the development of methods for determining the source localization of transient pressure events, such as blast and sound waves originating from explosions, or other pressure sources, with the preferred embodiment using the illustrated example of a multi-sensor wearable device (MSWD), but any multi-sensor wearable device may be used. This device combines pressure transducers, inertial sensors, and navigational sensors to identify the direction of a pressure source. The invention employs diverse techniques—pressure time-based, pressure amplitude-based, inertial amplitude-based, and/or machine learning—to enhance accuracy. The calculated source location can be used to determine a sensors orientation to the source to estimate a reflected and/or incident pressure. The directional analysis is vital for assessing the impact of pressure waves on surfaces, improving injury assessment, and enhancing safety evaluations as the direction of the blast wave may have different effects on injury outcomes.