Piezoelectric Actuation system for Small Arms Gun Barrel Stabilization

The ultimate objective of this project is the development an actively stabilized rifle to assist the soldier who is under both extreme physical and emotional stress, whose heart is racing, and who is not a highly skilled marksman and needs to neutralize a threat at a distance in the range of 500 yards. Our target user is not a highly trained marksman firing under ideal circumstances. It is an average marksman firing in an emotionally and physically stressful environment. Our goal is to make that soldier as lethal as a highly trained marksman who is firing under ideal circumstances. The target application for this effort is the M24 Sniper Weapon System. This platform and the environment in which it must operate place many difficult constraints on the system design. It is our goal that the actively stabilized barrel system will have the same physical dimensions as a regular, unmodified rifle. The stabilization system must therefore be compact enough to fit into small spaces such as the gunstock, must be lightweight, have minimal effect on weapon balance and feel and be extremely rugged. Most important, the system must be very reliable, and must not render the rifle inoperative in case of failure.