System, method, and computer program product for hostile fire strike indication
First Claim
Patent Images
1. A damage assessment system, the system comprising:
- an infrared (IR) camera mountable on a structure,the system being operative to determine whether the structure was hit or was likely hit by a fired unguided energetic projectile and a position or likely position on the structure where the projectile hit or likely hit, andsaid IR camera having a field of view (FOV) and a predetermined sensitivity sufficient to capture a heat signature of the fired unguided energetic projectile,the heat signature being from small arms fire, and including at least one of a firing component generated upon firing of the projectile, and a friction component generated by friction as the projectile travels through the troposphere, andpixels of said IR camera being operative to capture a portion of a trail of energy associated with the heat signature of the fired projectile;
an image processor mountable on the structure and operative to receive signals from said IR camera corresponding to the captured portion of the trail of energy, said image processor being operative to post-process the signals from said IR camera and to make a determination as to whether the fired projectile hit or likely hit the structure and the position or likely position on the structure where the projectile hit or likely hit the structure; and
an electronic data storage device to store data regarding projectile hit position or likely hit position on the structure.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
Systems, methods, and computer program products for optically identifying hostile fire strikes to a vehicle. The identification can be that the hostile fire will hit the vehicle, will likely hit the vehicle, hit the vehicle, or likely hit the vehicle. In the case of predictive hits, a warning may be output and the vehicle can take evasive and/or countermeasure actions. In the case of actual or likely strikes to the vehicle, the optical identification can map a travel path of a detected projectile to positions on the vehicle, thus identifying a likely position or area of projectile impact. Such data can be used for inspection and maintenance purposes.
-
Citations
20 Claims
-
1. A damage assessment system, the system comprising:
-
an infrared (IR) camera mountable on a structure, the system being operative to determine whether the structure was hit or was likely hit by a fired unguided energetic projectile and a position or likely position on the structure where the projectile hit or likely hit, and said IR camera having a field of view (FOV) and a predetermined sensitivity sufficient to capture a heat signature of the fired unguided energetic projectile, the heat signature being from small arms fire, and including at least one of a firing component generated upon firing of the projectile, and a friction component generated by friction as the projectile travels through the troposphere, and pixels of said IR camera being operative to capture a portion of a trail of energy associated with the heat signature of the fired projectile; an image processor mountable on the structure and operative to receive signals from said IR camera corresponding to the captured portion of the trail of energy, said image processor being operative to post-process the signals from said IR camera and to make a determination as to whether the fired projectile hit or likely hit the structure and the position or likely position on the structure where the projectile hit or likely hit the structure; and an electronic data storage device to store data regarding projectile hit position or likely hit position on the structure. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
-
-
11. A damage assessment system, the system comprising:
-
an infrared (IR) camera mountable on a structure, the system being operative to determine whether the structure was hit or was likely hit by a fired unguided energetic projectile and a position or likely position on the structure where the projectile hit or likely hit, and said IR camera having a field of view (FOV) and a predetermined sensitivity sufficient to capture a heat signature of the fired unguided energetic projectile, the heat signature including at least one of a firing component generated upon firing of the projectile, a tracer-related component, and a friction component generated by friction as the projectile travels through the troposphere, and pixels of said IR camera being operative to capture a portion of a trail of energy associated with the heat signature of the fired projectile; an image processor mountable on the structure and operative to receive signals from said IR camera corresponding to the captured portion of the trail of energy, said image processor being operative to post-process the signals from said IR camera and to make a determination as to whether the fired projectile hit or likely hit the structure and the position or likely position on the structure where the projectile hit or likely hit the structure, the image processor generating probabilistic data including a hit probability representing the likelihood that the projectile has hit the structure, and the probabilistic data indicates that the structure was likely hit when the hit probability exceeds a threshold amount; and an electronic data storage device to store data regarding projectile hit position or likely hit position on the structure. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20)
-
Specification