HOSAS: Helmet Opto-Acoustic Small Arms Sensor - Phase II

Small arms fire is still one of the greatest threats to military personnel on the ground in theater of operation. While there are body worn sensors for detecting small arms fire, a helmet mounted system is an ideal platform for protecting dismounted personnel. Existing acoustic systems provide protection, but perform poorly in reverberant environments, such as urban spaces. A combination of acoustic sensors and microbolometers represents a more robust approach to addressing the threat of small arms fire. Infrared imaging technology has become smaller, more cost effective, and readily available, and can provide effective sensing in low light and visually obscured conditions. Instead of using full imaging arrays, the proposed approach uses a linear array of COTS single sensors elements with overlapping fields of view to minimize processing needs and weight. SSCI determined under the Phase I that HOSAS has dual-use applications for both body-worn and UAS-mounted applications. HOSAS is well suited to UAS applications, where acoustic-only systems struggled, due to improved line of sight from UAS platforms. Under Phase II SSCI will create a prototype sensor platform for mounting to a UAS and test it at a live-fire range in Fort Devens, where SSCI has a waiver to fly.