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"I long ago realized that I could reach far more people by writing something, than by walking down the street with a banner."
- John Brunner
 |
| Weapon Sound Tracker | ||
| Locate an enemy by the sound of gunfire. |
U.S. soldiers still in Iraq a decade into the future have more advanced weapons systems.
| Sound trackers on the roof could zero in on weapons action and coordinate return fire through UAVs and their only other air support, the Superhawk. |
| Technovelgy from Quantico,
by Greg Bear. Published by Vanguard in 2007 Additional resources -
|
In an interview with Technovelgy.com, Greg Bear had this to say about the weapon sound tracker:
Greg Bear:"Yes, something that could filter through all the echoes and ... work its way back to where the sound originates."
T: So this is an idea, or you've seen it?
GB:" I haven't seen it, but I'm sure they're working on it."
T: You might be interested to know that there is a technology called WeaponWatch which actually looks for infrared signatures of fired weapons.
GB: "Yes, that make sense."
T: I actually saw it demonstrated at NextFest 2006 in New York. Supposedly, this is better than listening for sound, because obviously light travels faster than sound and the company claims that it would be possible in some cases to return fire in some cases before the rounds actually got to you.
GB: "Interesting... but they would have to have direct line-of-sight for the weapon?"
T: That's mostly correct, but apparently they can look at reflected light...
GB: "Very cool..."
T: ...So to some extent, in an urban environment, you could 'see around corners'...
(Read the rest of Greg Bear's interview on Quantico.)
One real-world technology that is similar to a Weapon Sound Tracker is ShotSpotter, a gunshot location system used both by police departments and the military. However, ShotSpotter requires a network of sensors (as opposed to a single unit) to identify, triangulate and then give a visual image of the location of a gunshot event, typically in seconds.
Also, WeaponWatch already uses an automated weapon system as a peripheral device, to coordinate return fire, sometimes before the enemy round has even reached its target.
Technovelgy: You also wrote about a Weapon Sound Tracker.
Take a look at how WeaponWatch Detects, Locates Enemy Fire Infrared Signature.
Comment/Join this discussion ( 2 ) | RSS/XML | Blog This |
Additional
resources:
More Ideas
and Technology from Quantico
More Ideas
and Technology by Greg Bear
Tech news articles related to Quantico
Tech news articles related to works by Greg Bear
Weapon Sound Tracker-related
news articles:
- Helmet-Based Sniper Location System
- Smartphone Sensor System Tracks Gunfire
- Cities Detect Gunfire Acoustics With ShotSpotter
- ShotSpotter Gunshot Location Tech Expands Coverage
| Can A Swarm Of Deadly Drones Take Out An Aircraft Carrier? |
| Has Turkey Been Stealing Rain From Iran? |
| We Need To Build Anti-Drone Systems For Civilian Spaces |
| Bullet Steers Itself! The Advanced Low-Cost Munitions Ordnance ALaMO |
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'Do not waste your priceless company on the unappreciative folds of a sleep pod...'
'...so we've promised him a generous pension from the royalties.'
'Hocus-pocus religions and archaic weapons are no substitute for a good blaster at your side.'
'Oscar picked up a trowel. 'I'm the tool for the mortar,' the little trowel squeaked cheerfully.'
'... he waited for the robotrix attendant to finish fueling up his ship.'
The Roujin Z system provides care to fully bedridden patients - and then some!
'Aerostat meant anything that hung in the air. This was an easy trick to pull off nowadays.'
'The Ringworld had no horizon. There was no line where the land curved away from the sky.'
'An adjustment panel outside the door would cause it to extrude various appurtenances in memory plastic...'
