thedrifter
07-07-04, 07:55 AM
Shooting Spies
Prototype 'Sticky Bullets' Fire Target Data Back to Shooter
By Paul Eng
July 6, 2004 — A bullet can be a soldier's best friend. But warriors in harm's way may soon have a new reason to cherish their ammunition — bullets could one day help find the hidden bombs such as those in Iraq that have killed and wounded hundreds of soldiers and civilians in roadside ambushes.
The key is a development called SPLAT, or Sticky Polymer Lethal Agent Tag. It's a thick, crayon-shaped bullet developed by a team of six undergraduate engineering students at the University of Florida in Gainesville working in conjunction with researchers from defense contractor Lockheed Martin in Orlando.
Inside the SPLAT bullet are miniature electronic sensors that can measure various properties — a detector for chemical explosives or a tiny microphone to record sound, for examples. A radio transmitter powered by a small watch battery sends the data back to the shooter through a wire antenna at the rear of the bullet.
http://a.abcnews.com/media/SciTech/images/ho_sticky_bullet_040701_nh.jpg
The prototype SPLAT, or Sticky Polymer Lethal Agent Tag, round can attach itself to almost any object and use its embedded electronics to sniff for explosive or toxic chemicals. Results are wirelessly sent back via the green radio antenna.
(Roy Carson/University of Florida)
A Shot With ‘Snot’
But SPLAT isn't just another "smart bullet," say researchers. The truly unique feature of SPLAT is its "sticky polymer" material at the tip of the bullet.
Leslie Kramer, director and engineering fellow for the Missile and Fire Control division of Lockheed Martin, says the adhesive is a common material used by the cable TV industry to seal antenna cables from the weather.
"One of the definitive technologies is the snot-like properties of the polymer," says Kramer. "It has the same consistency [as human nasal mucus] to allow [SPLAT] to stick to almost anything."
Sticky Hurdles
Loc Vu-Quoc, a supervising mechanical and aerospace engineering professor at the University of Florida, says the students had to overcome a number of challenges during the year it took to get the concept to work.
"They had to design a projectile that would fly as far as possible and yet survive impact," says Vu-Quoc. "And the design and arrangement of the electrical components had to be in such a way that the projectile will fly straight and not tumble so it will stick. There was a lot of trial and error."
The prototype SPLAT the students came up at the end of their project is far from a refined product.
Measuring .68-inches in diameter, SPLAT can only be fired from a CO2-powered "paintball gun," the same type used by weekend hobbyists that play the ersatz war games. And the only sensors they could afford to fit in that size of a package was an "off-the-shelf" accelerometer, a sensor commonly used to trigger car airbags.
Still, Vu-Quoc says the students' "proof of concept" version of SPLAT showed promise. It survived impact with objects at least 65 feet away and was able to wirelessly return data to a laptop computer up to 240 feet away from the target. What's more, the entire system — including the paintball gun — cost less than $1,000 to develop.
Beyond a Ballistic Bomb Detector
Lockheed Martin has since taken the project back to its own labs in Orlando and couldn't comment on exact performance details. But Kramer says the results are spurring further research and development.
"Our hope was to come out with a demo item that we can convert to a tactical system," says Kramer. "Specifically, the hope was to go out and put a chemical sensor out there that can detect explosives [from a safe distance.]"
Shoot a SPLAT round at a suspicious pile of garbage and the chemical sensors could determine if there are any explosives, say from a used artillery shell, hidden from view. If the data transmitted back shows no evidence of harmful munitions, the bullet can be retrieved and reused.
Moreover, the electronics that can be stuffed inside the SPLAT casing wouldn't necessarily be limited to just finding explosives. A tiny microphone could provide remote audio surveillance for intelligence gathering. Or, SPLAT could also be equipped to sniff out biological or radiological weapons.
"It's not very difficult at all to switch out capabilities," says Kramer. "We put an accelerometer in it today, but micro electrical-mechanical systems — MEMS — sensors like microphones on a chip are available, It's just a matter of validating each use and engineering it in, that's all."
Fired Up for More Research
Kramer says more research needs to be done to make SPLAT smaller and tougher so it can be used with more common weapons and shot further. But he claims "several government agencies" have already expressed interest and requested more information about the SPLAT concept.
"The technology we've demonstrated screams to be applied — especially in this new asymmetrical threat we now face with the war on terrorism," says Kramer.
He says that if pressed, Kramer's team of researchers could develop a "first field demo unit" within six months.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/SciTech/FutureTech/sticky_bullets_040706-1.html
Ellie
Prototype 'Sticky Bullets' Fire Target Data Back to Shooter
By Paul Eng
July 6, 2004 — A bullet can be a soldier's best friend. But warriors in harm's way may soon have a new reason to cherish their ammunition — bullets could one day help find the hidden bombs such as those in Iraq that have killed and wounded hundreds of soldiers and civilians in roadside ambushes.
The key is a development called SPLAT, or Sticky Polymer Lethal Agent Tag. It's a thick, crayon-shaped bullet developed by a team of six undergraduate engineering students at the University of Florida in Gainesville working in conjunction with researchers from defense contractor Lockheed Martin in Orlando.
Inside the SPLAT bullet are miniature electronic sensors that can measure various properties — a detector for chemical explosives or a tiny microphone to record sound, for examples. A radio transmitter powered by a small watch battery sends the data back to the shooter through a wire antenna at the rear of the bullet.
http://a.abcnews.com/media/SciTech/images/ho_sticky_bullet_040701_nh.jpg
The prototype SPLAT, or Sticky Polymer Lethal Agent Tag, round can attach itself to almost any object and use its embedded electronics to sniff for explosive or toxic chemicals. Results are wirelessly sent back via the green radio antenna.
(Roy Carson/University of Florida)
A Shot With ‘Snot’
But SPLAT isn't just another "smart bullet," say researchers. The truly unique feature of SPLAT is its "sticky polymer" material at the tip of the bullet.
Leslie Kramer, director and engineering fellow for the Missile and Fire Control division of Lockheed Martin, says the adhesive is a common material used by the cable TV industry to seal antenna cables from the weather.
"One of the definitive technologies is the snot-like properties of the polymer," says Kramer. "It has the same consistency [as human nasal mucus] to allow [SPLAT] to stick to almost anything."
Sticky Hurdles
Loc Vu-Quoc, a supervising mechanical and aerospace engineering professor at the University of Florida, says the students had to overcome a number of challenges during the year it took to get the concept to work.
"They had to design a projectile that would fly as far as possible and yet survive impact," says Vu-Quoc. "And the design and arrangement of the electrical components had to be in such a way that the projectile will fly straight and not tumble so it will stick. There was a lot of trial and error."
The prototype SPLAT the students came up at the end of their project is far from a refined product.
Measuring .68-inches in diameter, SPLAT can only be fired from a CO2-powered "paintball gun," the same type used by weekend hobbyists that play the ersatz war games. And the only sensors they could afford to fit in that size of a package was an "off-the-shelf" accelerometer, a sensor commonly used to trigger car airbags.
Still, Vu-Quoc says the students' "proof of concept" version of SPLAT showed promise. It survived impact with objects at least 65 feet away and was able to wirelessly return data to a laptop computer up to 240 feet away from the target. What's more, the entire system — including the paintball gun — cost less than $1,000 to develop.
Beyond a Ballistic Bomb Detector
Lockheed Martin has since taken the project back to its own labs in Orlando and couldn't comment on exact performance details. But Kramer says the results are spurring further research and development.
"Our hope was to come out with a demo item that we can convert to a tactical system," says Kramer. "Specifically, the hope was to go out and put a chemical sensor out there that can detect explosives [from a safe distance.]"
Shoot a SPLAT round at a suspicious pile of garbage and the chemical sensors could determine if there are any explosives, say from a used artillery shell, hidden from view. If the data transmitted back shows no evidence of harmful munitions, the bullet can be retrieved and reused.
Moreover, the electronics that can be stuffed inside the SPLAT casing wouldn't necessarily be limited to just finding explosives. A tiny microphone could provide remote audio surveillance for intelligence gathering. Or, SPLAT could also be equipped to sniff out biological or radiological weapons.
"It's not very difficult at all to switch out capabilities," says Kramer. "We put an accelerometer in it today, but micro electrical-mechanical systems — MEMS — sensors like microphones on a chip are available, It's just a matter of validating each use and engineering it in, that's all."
Fired Up for More Research
Kramer says more research needs to be done to make SPLAT smaller and tougher so it can be used with more common weapons and shot further. But he claims "several government agencies" have already expressed interest and requested more information about the SPLAT concept.
"The technology we've demonstrated screams to be applied — especially in this new asymmetrical threat we now face with the war on terrorism," says Kramer.
He says that if pressed, Kramer's team of researchers could develop a "first field demo unit" within six months.
http://abcnews.go.com/sections/SciTech/FutureTech/sticky_bullets_040706-1.html
Ellie