Twister reconnaissance drone: AI sensor localizes artillery fire by sound
An acoustic sensor can determine the direction from which artillery and mortar fire is coming. An AI determines what type of fire it is.
A Twister reconnaissance drone carries the rod-shaped acoustic sensor to detect enemy artillery fire.
(Image: Quantum Systems)
The German manufacturer of civilian and military surveillance drones, Quantum Systems, is currently developing an acoustic sensor that will enable reconnaissance drones to localize and identify artillery and mortar fire more precisely. This is according to a report in the military magazine Hartpunkt. The sensor measures the sound, an artificial intelligence (AI) evaluates the sound signature and determines the type of shot, for example.
The sensor is being developed by the Polish company Weles Acoustics, a subsidiary of Quantum Systems, is only the size of an index finger and weighs just a few grams, according to the Hartpunkt report. The sensor can be installed in the military reconnaissance drones that Quantum Systems offers. This is being tested with a Twister drone.
Enemy fire detection
The sensor is capable of acoustically detecting enemy artillery and mortar fire and locating the direction from which it is coming. This should work at a distance of 15 km. This information is used to automatically control the camera of the reconnaissance drone, which is then aimed at the enemy position. This should work with an accuracy of 5 degrees to 5 km. Previously, the camera had to be manually aligned by the operator in order to visually capture a position.
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The information on the sound signature is also to be evaluated by an AI. This makes it possible to distinguish whether the shot was fired by artillery or a mortar. This is important in order to be able to take the appropriate countermeasures to combat the enemy position.
The integrated sensor system in the reconnaissance drone could help mobile units to react to artillery and mortar fire more accurately than before. In addition, the use of smaller reconnaissance drones, such as a Twister from Quantum Systems, expands the sensory network of its own artillery. This enables the artillery to engage enemy positions with greater precision.
(olb)
