System and method for disambiguating shooter locations
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Abstract
Systems and methods for locating the shooter of supersonic projectiles based on shockwave-only measurements are described. Muzzle blast signals are neither sought nor required. The system uses at least five, preferably seven, acoustic sensors that are spaced apart at least 1 meter. The sensor signals are acquired with a time resolution in the order of microseconds and processed to find and disambiguate the shockwave arrival angle unit vector. Two different Time-Difference-Of-Arrival (TDOA) measurement techniques are described, with one technique using counters in each signal channel and the other technique using cross-correlation between signal channels. A genetic algorithm can be used to efficiently disambiguate the results.
49 Citations
44 Claims
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1-24. -24. (canceled)
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25. A method for disambiguating from shockwave-only signals a trajectory of a projectile producing a shockwave wavefront, comprising:
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measuring at least an initial portion of the shockwave-only signals with a plurality of spaced acoustic sensors forming an antenna;
determining from the measured portion of the shockwave-only signals Time-Difference-Of-Arrival (TDOA) values for sensor pairs with an accuracy sufficient to determine a gradient of curvature of the shockwave wavefront across the antenna;
determining the gradient of curvature of the shockwave wavefront; and
determining from the determined gradient of curvature the disambiguated projectile trajectory. - View Dependent Claims (26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34)
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35. A method for disambiguating a trajectory of a supersonic projectile from shockwave-only signals with an antenna having a plurality of acoustic sensors, comprising:
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detecting shockwave-only signals at the plurality of acoustic sensors;
determining from a correlation between the shockwave-only signals detected at the plurality of sensors Time-Difference-Of-Arrival (TDOA) values for sensor pairs;
for an expected closest distance between a projectile trajectory and the antenna, determining if a precision of the Time-Difference-Of-Arrival (TDOA) values is adequate for determining a gradient of curvature of a shockwave wavefront across the antenna;
determining the gradient of curvature of the shockwave wavefront; and
determining the disambiguated projectile trajectory from the gradient of curvature. - View Dependent Claims (36, 37, 38, 39, 40)
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41. A system for disambiguating a trajectory of a supersonic projectile from shockwave-only signals, comprising:
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an antenna having a plurality of acoustic sensors; and
a processor configured to receive signals at the acoustic sensors and determine if the received signals are shockwave-only signals;
perform a correlation between the shockwave-only signals;
determine from the correlation Time-Difference-Of-Arrival (TDOA) values for sensor pairs;
determine for an expected closest distance between a projectile trajectory and the antenna, if a precision of the Time-Difference-Of-Arrival (TDOA) values is adequate for determining a gradient of curvature of a shockwave wavefront across the antenna;
determine the gradient of curvature of the shockwave wavefront; and
determine the disambiguated projectile trajectory from the gradient of curvature. - View Dependent Claims (42, 43, 44)
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Specification