Extra Set of Ears Tell Soldiers the Exact Location of Enemy Gunfire

Written by admin on Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

When a soldier is fired upon by an enemy, one of the first things that a soldier is supposed to do is get behind cover. Once safely behind cover, it can be difficult to locate the source of enemy gunfire, creating a dilemma. The more exposed a soldier is, the easier it will be for him to pinpoint his enemies, and the more vulnerable he will become.

That is why QinetiQ North America has designed the Individual Gunshot Detector, or IGD. This small device, about the size of a deck of cards, can pinpoint the exact location of a gunshot based on sound alone.

The device uses a series of four small sensors to gauge the direction and distance of a sound. The large number of speakers works on a principle similar to human ears. Because we have a pair of ears, sound hits one ear before another, allowing the brain to determine buy antibiotics over the counter where a sound originates.

Once the IGD has gathered the sound information, it processes the data and displays the approximate location of the gunfire on a small display connected to the device. The IGD can interface with satellite technology to incorporate geographical factors, as well.

The system is so powerful that it ignores gunshot within 50 meters, meaning that it will not record friendly fire. Additionally, the finely-tuned sensors will ignore sounds that are similar to gunshots. It will only register the unique “crack and bang” of gunfire.

One of the best features is that a single IGD can feed its data to every nearby soldier. Because of that functionality, a single IGD is sufficient for an entire group, which enables the U.S. military to widely distribute this technology to soldiers who need it.

Throughout 2011 and 2012, the military plans to field approximately 1,500 Individual Gunshot Detectors every month.

 

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