Friend or foe detection system and method and expert system military action advisory system and method

• US 6,437,727 B2
• Filed: 12/20/2000
• Issued: 08/20/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 01/13/1999
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Jerome H. Lemelson, Robert D. Pedersen, Steven Robert Pedersen
• Original Assignee: Jerome H. Lemelson, Robert D. Pedersen, Steven Robert Pedersen
• Inventors: Lemelson, Jerome H., Pedersen, Robert D., Pedersen, Steven R.
• Primary Examiner(s): Tarcza, Thomas H.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Mull, Fred H.
• Application Number:
  US09/745,264
• Publication Number:
  US 20010006372A1
• Time in Patent Office: 608 Days
• Field of Search: 342/45, 342/357.06, 342/357.17, 342/357.07, 342/357.01, 706/52, 706/900
• US Class Current: 342/45
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 19/18 Military applications
• CPC Class Codes: G01S 5/0009 Transmission of position information to remote stations involving assistance data G01S5/0236

Abstract

A friend or foe detection system and method is disclosed. Friend or foe warning unit 20 has a geographic locating system, a communication system for communicating with each of the warning units, and a military force detection system for detecting military forces in a combat area and has a signal routing and control circuitry 50 for controlling operations. A number of components, devices, or sub-systems, such as a transmitter/receiver radio 28, an antenna 26, a microphone 30, a speaker 32, a battery 34, a display 36, a microprocessor 38, a memory 40, a camera 56, a radar/lidar input 54, on/off switch 52, a GPS location system 45 that includes a GPS processor 46, a GPS receiver 42, a GPS antenna 44, are coupled to the circuitry 50. Display 36 provides a display to the user of the unit 20 and shows the location of friendly forces as well as unfriendly or unidentified forces in the area. Display 36 displays text messages for the user of the warning unit 20. The microprocessor 38 together with memory 40 provide microprocessor control of the operations of the warning unit 20. The geographic locating system includes GPS processor 46, GPS receiver 42, and GPS antenna 44, and it is used to determine the exact location of the warning unit 20. The unit 20 is able to broadcast and receive military force information, such as location and status (i.e. friendly, unfriendly, unidentified statuses). An expert system military action advisory system and method for advising military troops or personnel of firing decisions is also disclosed. A firing index is determined based on the membership variables, and the firing index is used to help make the firing decisions. The membership variables and the firing index are defined for an expert system or fuzzy logic system, and the expert system or fuzzy logic system helps determine making the firing decisions. The system and method operate by transmitting target and friendly force GPS coordinate information to determine danger. Alternatively, only target coordinates are transmitted with fire danger indices calculated on a distributed basis by individual warning units and transmitted to the source of fire without friendly force location coordinates to assist in making final firing decisions.

Claims

1. A method for assisting military troops or personnel in making firing decisions based on friend or foe troop identification, comprising:

(a) defining friendly force and target variables with membership functions affecting the firing decisions,

(b) determining a firing index based on the variable membership functions, and

(c) using the firing index to help make the firing decisions.

2. The method according to claim 1 wherein the variables and the firing index are defined for an expert system wherein the expert system helps determine making the firing decisions.

3. The method according to claim 1 wherein one of the variable membership operations defines target priority membership.

4. The method according to claim 1 wherein one of the variable membership operations defines a friend distance-to-target membership.

5. The method according to claim 1 wherein one of the variable membership operations defines ordinance radius membership.

6. A system for assisting military troops or personnel in making firing decisions based on friend or foe troop identification, the system comprising:

(a) means for defining friendly force and target variables with membership functions affecting the firing decisions;

(b) means for determining a firing index based on the variable membership functions; and

(c) means for using the firing index to help make the firing decisions.