COMBAT VEHICLE AUTOMATIC SIGHTING SYSTEM

ELECTRO-OPTICAL GUN CONTROL AND SIGHTING SYSTEMS IN CONVENTIONAL COMBAT VEHICLES USE MANUAL CONTROL DEVICES AND TRAINED OPERATORS WITH CONSIDERABLE HAND/EYE COORDINATION TO ACQUIRE AND TRACK THREATS IN THE BATTLEFIELD ENVIRONMENT. EXISTING WEAPON STABILIZATION SYSTEMS CAN BE READILY RETROFITTED FOR AUTOMATIC CONTROL TO SIMPLIFY THESE TASKS AND IMPROVE PERFORMANCE. THIS PROGRAM PROPOSES TO INTRODUCE BOTH AUTOMATIC TARGET TRACKING AND EYE-SLAVE "LOOK AND LOCK" TARGET ACQUISITION INTO THE COMBAT VEHICLE COCKPIT. THE HUMAN EYE IS POTENTIALLY AN IDEAL INPUT DEVICE FOR MAN/FIRE CONTROL INTERFACE FOCUS THE EYE'S LINE OF GAZE. LINE OF SIGHT CAN BE AUTOMATICALLY ACQUIRED BY CURRENT TRACKING TECHNOLOGY, AND USED AS A CONTROL SYSTEM INPUT. COMBINATION OF AUTO-TRACKING AND "LOOK AND LOCK" WILL ALLOW RAPID DESIGNATION OF TARGETS WHICH WILL SUBSEQUENTLY BE AUTOMATICALLY MAINTAINED IN THE LINE OF FIRE. ACQUISITION WILL BE DIRECTED BY LOOKING AT THE TARGET, AND CUED BY A SINGLE BINARY COMMAND. THE EYE-DRIVEN CURSOR REDUCES THE REQUIREMENT FOR SPECIALIZED HAND-EYE COORDINATION SKILLS. IN PHASE I WE PROPOSE TO BUILD A DEMONSTRATION PROTOTYPE FOR THIS CONCEPT WHICH WILL LEAD TO LOW-COST INSTRUMENTATION TO IMPROVE PERFORMANCE OF TARGET CUEING, WEAPON CONTROL, AND HANDOFF, AND REDUCE THE SPECIFIC SKILL BURDEN ON THE FIRE CONTROL OPERATOR.