6 ms·

ROFL /thread Seriously though. How do they plan to designate the target for this round?

by haptiK 12y ago

ArikBe 12y ago
I believe that targets are marked using a laser.
- ricardobeat 12y ago
  If you can aim the laser, you can aim the weapon. This would certainly involve computer vision, makes it even more scary.
  - singlow 12y ago
    I think the idea is to automatically compensate for wind or other factors that would otherwise take the bullet on a path that is not on target. I think the part where they aim away from the target is just for demonstration.
  - sitkack 12y ago
    You can hit stuff that moves after the bullet is fired. It doesn't require computer vision.
  - wmeredith 12y ago
    A laser is unaffected by things like gravity, recoil, wind, dust particles, drag, etc... Also, if it's a line of site issue. The sniper could be out of the line of site and as long as the laser operator can put light on target, it still gets hit (theoretically).
    - jloughry 12y ago
      A laser is affected by temperature differences in the air (think about the mirage seen over a hot road surface) and even by gravity; a laser beam drops over distance like a bullet or a baseball, only it travels so fast that the effect is unnoticeable over earth-scale distances. The effect of a temperature inversion, though, can be significant; it's possible that military laser designators use diverse wavelengths to avoid or compensate for it.
      - wmeredith 12y ago
        Yes, yes, your technically correct (the best kind of correct?) but compared to a bullet arching through the air, it's minimal.
        jloughry 12y ago
        After thinking about it more, I realised you're absolutely right. It doesn't matter if the laser designator beam takes a knuckleball path through the intervening air; if the laser dot is on target---classical optics are time-reversible---the shooter will see it on target. The effect of those same air density variations on the bullet is similarly irrelevant [1], because the bullet continually aims for the laser dot. It works by negative feedback, like a servo; all the error terms in the middle cancel out. Neat! [1] The refraction of a laser by air density variations is bound to be different from the ballistic effects of those same density variations on a bullet passing through them. But it doesn't matter, because the corrections are applied continually along the trajectory, not at the source.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - bane 12y ago
    Some(body|thing) else can aim the laser and now you can hit out of sight targets.
- percept 12y ago
  I thought they were marked by the incumbent powers that be!
sschalk 12y ago
Anyone seen Aliens? Anyone say M56 Smart Gun? http://alienanthology.wikia.com/wiki/M56_Smart_Gun#Target_Tracking http://alienanthology.wikia.com/wiki/M56_Smart_Gun#Target_Tr... "When powered up, the gun begins tracking targets via its infrared tracker mounted above the barrel. The tracker consists of a 256 x 256 element platinum-silicide focal plane array cooled to 770 degrees K by a tiny cryogenic gas cooler working on the Stirling principle. This system monitors a 30 degree cone in front of the gun and transmits high-resolution thermal images in the 8-10 um range to a miniature video display in the operator's eyepiece." Thats all available technology - right now.
- pmontra 12y ago
  The replay button of The Fifth Element trumps that, but it's not available yet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7wOX2WqbXE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7wOX2WqbXE
  - pyrocat 12y ago
    That... was the parent comment.
    - pmontra 12y ago
      Maybe I misunderstood your comment but parent was about Aliens, this is about The Fifth Element. Different movies different fictional weapons. TFE's one is more fictional.

ROFL /thread Seriously though. How do they plan to designate the target for this round?

by haptiK 12y ago

ROFL /thread Seriously though. How do they plan to designate the target for this round?

ArikBe 12y ago

I believe that targets are marked using a laser.

ricardobeat 12y ago
If you can aim the laser, you can aim the weapon. This would certainly involve computer vision, makes it even more scary.
- singlow 12y ago
  I think the idea is to automatically compensate for wind or other factors that would otherwise take the bullet on a path that is not on target. I think the part where they aim away from the target is just for demonstration.
- sitkack 12y ago
  You can hit stuff that moves after the bullet is fired. It doesn't require computer vision.
- wmeredith 12y ago
  A laser is unaffected by things like gravity, recoil, wind, dust particles, drag, etc... Also, if it's a line of site issue. The sniper could be out of the line of site and as long as the laser operator can put light on target, it still gets hit (theoretically).
  - jloughry 12y ago
    A laser is affected by temperature differences in the air (think about the mirage seen over a hot road surface) and even by gravity; a laser beam drops over distance like a bullet or a baseball, only it travels so fast that the effect is unnoticeable over earth-scale distances. The effect of a temperature inversion, though, can be significant; it's possible that military laser designators use diverse wavelengths to avoid or compensate for it.
    - wmeredith 12y ago
      Yes, yes, your technically correct (the best kind of correct?) but compared to a bullet arching through the air, it's minimal.
      - jloughry 12y ago
        After thinking about it more, I realised you're absolutely right. It doesn't matter if the laser designator beam takes a knuckleball path through the intervening air; if the laser dot is on target---classical optics are time-reversible---the shooter will see it on target. The effect of those same air density variations on the bullet is similarly irrelevant [1], because the bullet continually aims for the laser dot. It works by negative feedback, like a servo; all the error terms in the middle cancel out. Neat! [1] The refraction of a laser by air density variations is bound to be different from the ballistic effects of those same density variations on a bullet passing through them. But it doesn't matter, because the corrections are applied continually along the trajectory, not at the source.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- bane 12y ago
  Some(body|thing) else can aim the laser and now you can hit out of sight targets.
percept 12y ago
I thought they were marked by the incumbent powers that be!

sschalk 12y ago

Anyone seen Aliens? Anyone say M56 Smart Gun? http://alienanthology.wikia.com/wiki/M56_Smart_Gun#Target_Tracking http://alienanthology.wikia.com/wiki/M56_Smart_Gun#Target_Tr... "When powered up, the gun begins tracking targets via its infrared tracker mounted above the barrel. The tracker consists of a 256 x 256 element platinum-silicide focal plane array cooled to 770 degrees K by a tiny cryogenic gas cooler working on the Stirling principle. This system monitors a 30 degree cone in front of the gun and transmits high-resolution thermal images in the 8-10 um range to a miniature video display in the operator's eyepiece." Thats all available technology - right now.

pmontra 12y ago
The replay button of The Fifth Element trumps that, but it's not available yet http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7wOX2WqbXE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U7wOX2WqbXE
- pyrocat 12y ago
  That... was the parent comment.
  - pmontra 12y ago
    Maybe I misunderstood your comment but parent was about Aliens, this is about The Fifth Element. Different movies different fictional weapons. TFE's one is more fictional.