REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (Nov. 24, 2015) -- A simple movement by a Soldier can misdirect even the most precision targeting device. To compensate for this potential, four separate field tests were conducted by the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center and the Army's Fires Center of Excellence, at Fort Sill, Okla.
AMRDEC, one of six U.S. Army Research, Development, and Engineering Command centers, was selected by the Product Manager-Soldier Precision Targeting Devices to help determine the effect Soldier motion has on the accuracy of targeting systems.
The Soldier motion, field testing was designed to provide baseline data to be used in the development of future hand held targeting devices. The motion data is incorporated into the development of the Precision Azimuth and Vertical Angle Module, which is a component of targeting systems that provides a precision azimuth to the Soldier.
Since there was no information on Soldier motion, AMRDEC developed a sensor to capture data that could subsequently be used in laboratory testing of prototype targeting systems.
To meet the objectives, AMRDEC developed an Inertial Data Recorder. The device contains the Honeywell HG1930 Inertial Measurement Unit, a custom power supply, firmware, post-processing software, and an off the shelf Secure Digital data card. The accelerations and angular rates of the Soldier were captured at 100 Hz and 600 Hz rates with an Inertial Data Recorder. The final weight of the IDR was under three pounds.
Dr. Vicki LeFevre, of AMRDEC's Weapons Development and Integration Directorate, currently leads the collaboration effort with PM-SPTD to improve the ability of the Soldier to quickly acquire, locate, and designate high-value targets.
"We have significant experience with the development, test, and evaluation of North-finding sensors and accepted the challenge," said LeFevre.
Personnel from her function have been members of the Joint Precision Targeting Working Group since its inception and were an excellent choice to develop a Soldier motion capture device and to test and evaluate candidate targeting system prototypes. Personnel from PM-SPTD and AMRDEC developed and designed a test that would capture Soldier motion with the Soldier carrying the IDR in many scenarios such as running on level ground, bounding, crawling, running up and down ramps, dropping to the ground rapidly, and targeting. The IDR was also dropped from various heights, thrown over a wall while in the rucksack, and dragged along the ground. The IDR was mounted to the Soldier in one of five possible configurations: hip mount, chest mount, rucksack carry, handheld and tripod mount.
Soldiers and civilians of various heights and weights performed tasks while either wearing the IDR affixed to a part of their body or carrying the IDR in a rucksack. The IDR was placed into a 90 degree angle bracket in a particular orientation on a stationary table at the beginning and end of each test to ensure known starting and ending time marks and ending attitude for error determination during any navigation post-processing. "We measured Soldier motion during activities that are similar to those they may encounter in a real combat situation where they may be required to rapidly re-locate to another position or possibly duck behind a tree to evade hostile fire," said LeFevre.
The results from the four Soldier motion test events demonstrated that, regardless of their size or shape, Soldier motion data was very similar if the Soldier was engaged in the same activity. Laboratory test and evaluation of future targeting devices using Soldier motion profiles will inform Army decisions and improve future targeting devices which will then be able to more precisely locate the desired target. Target location error will subsequently be reduced, and both non-precision and precision munitions will be more accurate and deadly.
Engineers can insert the Soldier motion data into laboratory table tests at AMRDEC and in other laboratory test tables to determine the effects of Soldier motion of the accuracy of targeting devices. Dr. LeFevre believes that simulated motion testing at AMRDEC can identify opportunities for improving the prototype devices and can inform performance specifications, with the object of making these targeting systems more robust to Soldier motion. Improved targeting systems will reduce collateral damage, increase lethality, reduce time to engage target, and decrease the number of munitions required to prosecute a target.
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The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to ensure decisive overmatch for unified land operations to empower the Army, the joint warfighter and our nation. RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command.
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