Gunshot detection stabilized turret robot

• US 9,366,503 B2
• Filed: 04/07/2009
• Issued: 06/14/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 04/07/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Foster-Miller Incorporated (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Foster-Miller Incorporated (Thermo Fisher Scientific Incorporated)
• Inventors: Schmidt, Mads, Mangolds, Arnis, Rufo, Michael, Murray, James
• Primary Examiner(s): Nguyen, Bao Long T
• Application Number:
  US12/384,590
• Publication Number:
  US 20090281660A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,625 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: F41A 23/24 Turret gun mountings feeding, loading or guiding ammunition F41A9/00; mechanical elevating or traversing systems for turret guns F41A27/18
• CPC Class Codes: F41G 3/147 based on detection of a firing weapon
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 11/06 Guntraps devices specially adapted for the protection against criminal attack in airplanes B64D45/0015; burglar traps or the like, on safes E05G5/02; identifying, scaring or incapacitating burglars, thieves, or intruders G08B15/00
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 13/00 Means of attack or defence not otherwise provided for details of radar or sonar systems G01S7/00
• CPC Class Codes: F41H 7/005 Unmanned ground vehicles, i.e. robotic, remote controlled or autonomous, mobile platforms carrying equipment for performing a military or police role, e.g. weapon systems or reconnaissance sensors F41H11/16 takes precedence

Abstract

A mobile, remotely controlled robot comprising a robot drive subsystem for maneuvering the robot, a turret on the robot, a turret drive for moving the turret, a noise detection subsystem for detecting the probable origin of a noise, a robot position and movement sensor subsystem, a turret position sensor subsystem, and one or more processors, responsive to the noise detection subsystem, the robot position and movement sensor subsystem. The turret position sensor subsystem is configured to control the turret drive to orient the turret to aim a device mounted thereto at the origin of the noise and to maintain said aim as the robot moves.

Claims

1. A mobile, remotely controlled robot comprising:

a robot drive subsystem for maneuvering the robot via wireless signals transmitted from an operator control unit;

a robot position and movement sensor subsystem configured to determine the position of the robot;

a turret on the robot with a weapon mounted thereon, the turret including a turret motor controller with an elevation drive and an azimuth drive;

a weapon fire control subsystem for firing the weapon based on a signal received from the operator control unit;

a turret position sensor subsystem configured to determine an aiming direction of the weapon;

a gunshot detection subsystem configured to detect a gunshot original location; and

a processing electronics subsystem responsive to said wireless signals transmitted from the operator control unit, the determined position of the robot, the aiming direction of the weapon, and the gunshot original location and configured, in a coordinate stabilization mode, to;

control the elevation drive and azimuth drive to aim the weapon at the gunshot origin location based on the determined position of the robot, the aiming direction of the weapon, and the gunshot origin location,

maneuver the robot via the robot drive subsystem in accordance with said wireless signals transmitted from the operator control unit, and

control the elevation drive and azimuth drive to change the elevation and aiming direction of the weapon to maintain the aim of the weapon at said gunshot origin location as the robot maneuvers.

2. The robot of claim 1 in which the processing electronics subsystem is further configured to control the elevation drive and azimuth drive in a stabilization mode and a heading/elevation stabilization mode and/or a gyro stabilization mode.

3. The robot of claim 2 in which the processing electronics subsystem is further configured for a manual mode to control the elevation drive and azimuth drive according to wireless signals transmitted from the operator control unit.

4. The robot of claim 1 further including a stabilization loop configured to limit turret velocity during robot maneuvering.

5. The robot of claim 1 in which said processing electronics subsystem is configured to calculate a pointing vector from the robot to the gunshot origin location, to transfer the pointing vector to a robot coordinate system, and to map said transferred vector to turret coordinates to compute a desired azimuth angle and desired elevation angle output to said turret motor controller.

6. The robot of claim 5 in which said turret motor controller is configured to control the elevation drive and azimuth drive to aim the weapon at said gunshot origin location using a shortest path.

7. The robot of claim 1 in which the robot position and movement sensor subsystem includes a GPS receiver and motion sensors.

8. The robot of claim 1 in which the turret position sensor subsystem includes encoders.