Active shooter and environment detection

• US 9,830,932 B1
• Filed: 05/19/2017
• Issued: 11/28/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 05/26/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: US Department of The Air Force (U.S. Department Of Defense)
• Original Assignee: The United States of America As Represented By The Secretary of Agriculture
• Inventors: Gunderson, Daniel, Hyde, Andrew, Glowiak, Evan, VonNiederhausern, Bruce, Horner, Carlos, Perrine, Christopher, Boswell, Steve
• Primary Examiner(s): Huber, Paul
• Application Number:
  US15/599,999
• Time in Patent Office: 193 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: G05B 13/00 Adaptive control systems, i.e. systems automatically adjusting themselves to have a performance which is optimum according to some preassigned criterion G05B19/00 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 13/1672 using sonic detecting means, e.g. a microphone operating in the audio frequency range
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 21/02 Alarms for ensuring the safety of persons
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/10 using wireless transmission systems G08B25/009 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 25/14 Central alarm receiver or annunciator arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 29/186 Fuzzy logic; neural networks
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 5/22 using electric transmission; using electromagnetic transmission
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 7/06 using electric transmission , e.g. involving audible and visible signalling through the use of sound and light sources
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/18 the extracted parameters being spectral information of each sub-band
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/30 using neural networks
• CPC Class Codes: G10L 25/51 for comparison or discrimination
• CPC Class Codes: H04M 1/82 Line monitoring circuits for call progress or status discrimination for detecting caller identity H04M1/573
• CPC Class Codes: H04R 3/005 for combining the signals of two or more microphones specially adapted for hearing aids H04R25/407

Abstract

A sensor device to detect an audio wave and determine whether the audio wave is a gunshot is provided. The sensor device may include microphone, analog-to-digital converter (ADC), microcontroller, and switch. The ADC may convert audio waves received from microphone into a digital signal. The microcontroller connected to the ADC may compare the digital signal of the audio waves with predetermined audio wave to determine whether the audio waves meet audio threshold parameters. The switch operatively connected to the microcontroller may transmit a trip signal to a predetermined emergency management and response system upon the microcontroller determining that the audio waves meet the audio threshold parameters. A gunshot detection system including the sensor device and a method of detecting a gunshot are also provided.

Claims

1. A sensor device comprising:

at least one microphone configured to receive audio waves with a dampener surrounding said at least one microphone;

at least one analog-to-digital converter (ADC) operatively connected to said at least one microphone and configured to convert said audio waves into a digital signal;

a microcontroller operatively connected to said at least one ADC and comprising a non-transitory computer-readable memory having instructions stored thereon, said instructions comprising audio threshold parameters related to each of a frequency range and a sound pressure level associated with a predetermined audio wave, wherein said microcontroller compares said digital signal of said audio waves with said predetermined audio wave to determine whether said audio waves meet said audio threshold parameters; and

a switch operatively connected to said microcontroller and configured to transmit a trip signal to a predetermined emergency management and response system upon said microcontroller determining that said audio waves meet said audio threshold parameters, wherein said at least one microphone comprises a plurality of microphones, and wherein said dampener comprises a plurality of dampeners that are configured to dampen said plurality of microphones at different levels from each other.

2. The sensor device of claim 1, further comprising any of a radio frequency (RF) module, a network port, an Ethernet port, a wave guide port, and a hard wire port operatively connected to said switch, wherein said RF module is configured to wirelessly transmit said trip signal.

3. The sensor device of claim 1, wherein said predetermined emergency management and response system comprises any of a fire protection system and a security system.

4. The sensor device of claim 1, wherein said at least one microphone comprises a plurality of microphones each independently configured to receive said audio waves for input into said at least one ADC, and wherein said at least one ADC creates a separate digital signal for audio waves received by each microphone.

5. The sensor device of claim 4, wherein said microcontroller is configured to compare said separate digital signal for said audio waves received by each microphone with said predetermined audio wave to determine whether said audio waves received by each microphone independently meet said audio threshold parameters.

6. The sensor device of claim 5, wherein said switch is configured to transmit said trip signal upon said microcontroller determining that said audio waves received by a predetermined number of said plurality of microphones meet said audio threshold parameters.

7. The sensor device of claim 1, wherein said predetermined audio wave is associated with an audio wave generated by a gunshot.

8. A method of detecting a gunshot, the method comprising:

detecting, via a plurality of microphones, an audio wave as an analog input;

dampening the said audio wave via a dampener surrounding said at least one microphone of the plurality of microphones;

dampening said plurality of microphones at different levels from each other;

converting, via at least one analog-to-digital converter (ADC) operatively connected to said at least one microphone, the analog input into a digital signal;

comparing, via a microcontroller operatively connected to said at least one ADC and programmed with audio threshold parameters related to each of a frequency range and a sound pressure level associated with a predetermined audio wave, said digital signal with said predetermined audio wave;

determining, via said microcontroller, whether the detected audio wave meets said audio threshold parameters; and

transmitting, via a switch operatively connected to said microcontroller, a trip signal to a predetermined emergency management and response system upon said microcontroller determining that said detected audio wave meets said audio threshold parameters.

9. The method of claim 8, wherein said comparing comprises inputting said digital signal to a neural network.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein said neural network comprises at least one input layer of at least sixty-two input nodes, at least one hidden layer of at least fifteen nodes, and at least one output layer of at least two output nodes.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein said neural network comprises a trained neural network comprising learned gunshots and learned false alarms received by said at least one microphone to provide classification between detected gunshots and detected false alarms.

12. The method of claim 8, wherein the transmitting said trip signal comprises, any of wirelessly transmitting, transmitting over an Ethernet, transmitting over a wave guide, and transmitting over a wire.

13. The method of claim 8, wherein said predetermined emergency management and response system comprises any of a fire protection system and a security system.

14. The method of claim 8, wherein said at least one microphone comprises a plurality of microphones, wherein said detecting comprises detecting said audio wave as a plurality of analog inputs via said plurality of microphones,

wherein said converting comprises converting each analog input into a separate digital signal,

wherein said comparing comprises comparing each separate digital signal with said predetermined audio wave, and

wherein said determining comprises determining whether each of said plurality of analog inputs independently meets said audio threshold parameters.

15. The method of claim 8, wherein said predetermined audio wave is associated with an audio wave generated by a gunshot.