Shock Wave Measurement and Time Difference of Arrival Analysis for Impact Point Positioning

In a shock wave positioning system for light weapons, the key to accurate positioning estimation of the impact point lies in the extraction of the characteristic attributes of the shock wave signal reaching each sensor in the sensor array and the proper design and modeling of the sensor array. In this work, according to the analysis of aerodynamics and the characteristics of shock wave transmission in the designed sensor array, a positioning model is developed to estimate the impact point location based on the time difference of arrival (TDOA) analysis. A novel correction algorithm is suggested to address the influence of wind speed so as to improve the positioning accuracy. A smart data acquisition (DAQ) system is developed to measure and capture the time differences of the shot wave reaching different sensors. The effectiveness of the designed sensor array, modeling technique, and wind correction algorithm is verified by tests using a specifically developed experimental setup.