KR102290878B1 - Remote controlled weapon station to fire targets hidden by obstacles - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a remote firearm control device for firing at a target obscured by an obstacle. A remote firearm control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a communication unit for receiving an image photographed by the photographing apparatus; a target extraction unit for extracting a portion of the exposed target with respect to the target partially exposed by the obstacle in the image; a shape modeling unit for modeling the entire shape of the target from a portion of the extracted target; and a shooting range setting unit configured to set a shooting range so that the firearm performs shooting with respect to the entire shape of the modeled target.

Description

Remote controlled weapon station to fire targets hidden by obstacles

The present invention relates to a remote firearm control apparatus, and more particularly, to a remote firearm control apparatus for firing a target obscured by an obstacle.

The Remote Controlled Weapon Station (RCWS) or Remote Weapon Station (RWS) is a system for remotely operating firearms. RCWS is generally composed of a firearm mounted on a vehicle or a mobile robot, an imaging device that acquires an image of a target, and a control device that remotely controls the firearm. The control device may be located inside the vehicle or remotely.

In RCWS, the shooter can be protected from enemy attacks because the shooter does not operate the firearm directly, but operates the firearm remotely through the control device. In addition, it is possible to perform precise targeting according to the performance of the imaging device.

In general, the RCWS is operated to extract a target from an image acquired by an imaging device, select a point where the extracted target is located as a shooting range, and perform shooting. When only a part of the target is exposed by an obstacle on the image, the exposed part is selected as a shooting range and the shooting is performed.

However, there is a limit to increasing the shooting accuracy by shooting with the partially exposed part as the shooting range with respect to the target obscured by the obstacle. Therefore, in order to overcome this limitation, there is a need for a method of providing a shooting range even for a part where the target is obscured by an obstacle.

Korean Patent Registration No. 10-0963681

An object of the present invention is to provide a remote firearm control device that models a shape of a target obscured by an obstacle, sets a shooting range for a part of a target obscured by an obstacle, and performs shooting.

The problems of the present invention are not limited to the problems mentioned above, and other problems not mentioned will be clearly understood by those skilled in the art from the following description.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a remote firearm control apparatus for controlling a fire having a photographing device, comprising: a communication unit configured to receive an image photographed by the photographing apparatus; a target extraction unit for extracting a portion of the exposed target with respect to the target partially exposed by the obstacle in the image; a shape modeling unit for modeling the entire shape of the target from a portion of the extracted target; and a shooting range setting unit configured to set a shooting range so that the firearm performs shooting with respect to the entire shape of the modeled target.

Other specific details of the invention are included in the detailed description and drawings.

According to the embodiments of the present invention, there are at least the following effects.

According to the present invention, since the shooting range is set and shooting is performed even for a part of the target obscured by the obstacle, the hit rate on the target can be increased.

The effect according to the present invention is not limited by the contents exemplified above, and more various effects are included in the present specification.

1 shows a firearm and a remote firearm control device for controlling the firearm.
2 shows the configuration of a remote firearm control device.
3 shows the configuration of the shape modeling unit.
4 shows a method for generating a target model.
5 shows a first embodiment of setting a shooting range in the remote firearm control device.
6 shows a second embodiment of setting a shooting range in the remote firearm control device.
7 shows a third embodiment of setting a shooting range in the remote firearm control device.
8 shows a fourth embodiment of setting a shooting range in the remote firearm control device.

Advantages and features of the present invention and methods of achieving them will become apparent with reference to the embodiments described below in detail in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments disclosed below, but may be implemented in various different forms, and only these embodiments allow the disclosure of the present invention to be complete, and common knowledge in the art to which the present invention pertains It is provided to fully inform those who have the scope of the invention, and the present invention is only defined by the scope of the claims. Like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein may be used with the meaning commonly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention belongs. In addition, terms defined in a commonly used dictionary are not to be interpreted ideally or excessively unless clearly defined in particular.

The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing the embodiments and is not intended to limit the present invention. As used herein, the singular also includes the plural unless specifically stated otherwise in the phrase. As used herein, “comprises” and/or “comprising” does not exclude the presence or addition of one or more other components in addition to the stated components.

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 shows a firearm and a remote firearm control device for controlling a firearm according to an embodiment of the present invention.

A firearm to be controlled by the remote firearm control apparatus 100 includes a firearm mounted on a driving body that can be driven. The driving body 14 may be an unmanned ground vehicle or a manned ground vehicle. When the driving body 14 is an unmanned vehicle, the remote firearm control device 100 may be disposed at a remote location, and when the driving body 14 is a manned vehicle, the remote firearm control device 100 may be disposed inside the manned vehicle. can It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the firearm to be controlled by the remote firearm control device 100 includes a firearm mounted on a remote fixture.

The firearm 11 may include a photographing device 12 . The photographing device 12 is a device for photographing a target, and may include a charge coupled device (CCD) camera, a thermal imaging camera, and the like. Thermal imaging cameras can be used in situations where it is difficult to capture a target with a CCD camera, such as at night or in a bush.

The firearm 11 may be provided with a distance measuring sensor 13 . The distance measuring sensor 13 is a device for measuring the distance between the target and the firearm, and may be configured as a laser rangefinder (LRF). Using LRF, it is possible to measure the velocity of a moving target using the Doppler effect along with distance measurement.

The firearm 11 , the photographing device 12 , and the distance measuring sensor 13 may be configured to be independently driven. That is, the firearm, the photographing device, and the distance measuring sensor may be driven so that the point at which the firearm aims, the point at which the photographing device takes a picture, and the point at which the distance measuring sensor measures are all different.

The remote firearm control device 100 is a device capable of controlling the firearm 11 , the photographing device 12 , and the distance measuring sensor 13 . As described above, when the driving body is an unmanned vehicle, the remote firearm control device may be disposed at a remote location, and when the driving body is a manned vehicle, the remote firearm control device may be disposed inside the manned vehicle. Hereinafter, the configuration and operation method of the remote firearm control device will be described.

2 shows the configuration of a remote firearm control apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. The remote firearm control device includes a communication unit 110 , a display unit 120 , an input unit 130 , a storage unit 140 , a target extraction unit 150 , a shape modeling unit 160 , an obstacle determination unit 170 , and a shooting range. It includes a calculator 180 and a control signal generator 190 .

The communication unit 110 performs a function of transmitting and receiving data necessary to control a firearm. The communication unit 110 may receive an image captured by the photographing device, the distance measured by the distance measuring device, and driving information of the firearm, the photographing device, and the distance measuring device. In addition, the communication unit 110 may transmit the control signal to control the firearm, the photographing device, and the distance measuring device according to the control signal generated by the control signal generator 170 to be described later.

The communication unit 110 may transmit and receive data using wireless communication when the remote firearm control device 100 is disposed at a remote location, and transmits data using wired communication when the remote firearm control device 100 is disposed inside the manned vehicle. can transmit and receive.

The display unit 120 includes a display panel, and performs a function of displaying an image received from the communication unit 110 on the display panel. The display unit 120 may perform decoding and rendering for displaying an image. In addition, the display unit 120 may perform a function of displaying the shape of the target modeled by the shape modeling unit 160 to be described later on the display panel.

The input unit 130 performs a function of receiving a command required for fire control from a user. When the display panel of the display unit 120 is a touch screen, the input unit 130 may be configured as the touch screen. Alternatively, the input unit 130 may be configured as a device capable of receiving an input, such as a mouse, a keyboard, or a touch screen independent of the display panel.

The storage unit 140 stores metadata about the shape of an object as big data. The metadata for the shape of the object includes a 3D image of the shape of the object and coordinates of feature points constituting the shape of the object.

The feature points constituting the shape of the object mean points on the surface of the object that can restore the shape of the object. The feature point may be composed of all points on the surface of the object, but in order to reduce the size of data stored in the storage unit 140 , it may be composed of the minimum points necessary to restore the shape of the object. For example, when the object is a pyramid, the feature points may be composed of vertices that are the minimum points required to restore the pyramid shape. When the shape of the object is a complex shape, after simplifying the shape of the object, a feature point may be composed of points necessary to restore the simplified shape. For example, when the object is a person, the feature point may be composed of five points corresponding to the head, both hands, and both feet, respectively.

When the object has a standardized shape, a 3D image for the standardized shape and coordinates of a feature point may be stored. When the object does not have a standardized shape, a 3D image for a standard shape representing the object and coordinates of a feature point may be stored.

The sample shape of the object means the shape of the object representing each category when the object is classified into categories. For example, when a person is divided into male and female categories, a shape having a standard male body shape and a female standard body shape may be a sample shape representing each category. In the case of an object capable of changing a shape, the shape change may be divided into stages, and a sample shape of the object may be set for each divided stage. For example, when the stage of shape change for a person is divided into a sitting posture, a standing posture, and a lying posture, a shape having a typical posture of each stage may be set as the sample shape.

When the 3D image of the shape of the object is compared with the coordinates of the feature points constituting the shape of the object, the former is more similar to the actual shape and the latter has a relatively smaller storage capacity in the storage unit 140 . In consideration of this point, the storage unit 140 may selectively store the 3D image of the shape of the object and the coordinates of the feature points constituting the shape of the object.

Other data used in the remote firearm control device 100 may be stored in the storage unit 140 , and storage media that may be used as the storage unit 140 include a hard disk drive (HDD), a solid state drive (SSD) ), CF (Compact Flash), SD (Secure Digital) cards, etc., but the types are not limited thereto. Also, the storage unit 140 may be provided in a remote server such as a cloud server.

The target extraction unit 150 extracts a part of the exposed target when the target is only partially exposed by an obstacle from the image received from the communication unit 110 . The target extraction unit 150 may extract a target through image processing for separating an object and a background from an image.

The shape modeling unit 160 performs a function of modeling the entire shape of the target from a part of the exposed target with respect to the partially exposed target with respect to the obstacle. 3 , the shape modeling unit 160 includes a target identification unit 161 , a metadata search unit 162 , a target model generation unit 163 , and a thermal image model generation unit 164 .

The target identification unit 161 identifies a target from a portion of the target extracted by the target extraction unit 150 . The target identification unit 161 may acquire information on a shape, size, color, pattern, etc. from a part of the target, and identify the target by applying a deep learning-based recognition technology to the acquired information.

The target identification unit 161 performs a function of determining whether there is an additional target obscured by an obstacle based on the information for identifying the target. For example, when the target identification unit 161 identifies the target as a soldier and acquires the rank of the soldier, the military command worn by the soldier, etc. as additional identification information, there will be personnel accompanying the soldier identified through the additional identification information. probabilities can be calculated. When the calculated probability is higher than the reference value, the target identification unit 161 may determine that a person accompanying the identified soldier exists as an additional target hidden by the obstacle. Alternatively, when the target identification unit 161 identifies the target as a firearm, it is determined whether additional equipment is required to operate the identified firearm. If the additional equipment is required, the target identification unit 161 may determine that the additional equipment exists as an additional target hidden by the obstacle.

When the target is identified by the target identification unit 161 , the metadata search unit 162 searches for metadata about the shape of the target identified in the storage unit 140 , and the target model generation unit 163 searches for the searched meta data. A target model is created so that the target identified through the data matches the posture and size. The entire shape of the target obscured by the obstacle is modeled through the target model generated by the target model generator 163 .

Referring to FIG. 4 together, for example, when the target 21 is identified as a vehicle having a product name of “randomCar(22)” by the target identification unit 161, the metadata search unit 162 may display “randomCar” Retrieve the 3D image 23 of the shape for . The target model generator 163 generates the target model 24 so that the searched 3D image matches the identified target with a posture, size, and the like. In this case, the target model 24 may be generated in such a way that the remaining portion of the identified target is replaced with a 3D image. Alternatively, the target model 24 may be generated only as a 3D image converted to match the identified target, posture, size, and the like.

When the target 25 is identified as the “male 26” by the target identification unit 161, the metadata search unit 162 searches the 3D image 27 for the shape of the “male”. In this case, since “male” is not a standardized object, the 3D image 27 may be searched for the image of the sample shape of “male” in each phase of shape change. The target model generator 163 generates the target model 28 so that the searched 3D image matches the identified target with a posture, size, and the like. In this case, when a plurality of 3D images are searched, any one 3D image may be selected in consideration of the size of the obstacle to generate the target model 28 . The target model 28 may be generated in such a way that the remaining portions of the identified target are replaced with a 3D image.

The thermal image model generator 164 performs a function of modeling the overall shape of the target through the image captured by the thermal imaging camera. When the obstacle covering the target is made of a material that cannot block heat, the entire shape of the target can be captured by using a thermal imaging camera. In this case, the thermal image model generator 164 extracts the shape of the target from the image captured by the thermal imaging camera, and performs a function of modeling the overall shape of the target.

The obstacle determining unit 170 extracts an obstacle covering the target from the image received from the communication unit 110 and determines whether it is an obstacle that can be penetrated by a firearm. The obstacle determining unit 170 may extract a moving obstacle through image processing that separates the object and the background from the image. In addition, the obstacle determining unit 170 may identify the material of the obstacle by using the shape, color, pattern, etc. of the obstacle extracted from the image, and determine whether the identified material is penetrable with a firearm.

The shooting range setting unit 180 performs a function of setting a shooting range in which the firearm will fire. The shooting range setting unit 180 may set a shooting range for the entire shape of the target modeled by the shape modeling unit 160 . Alternatively, when the target extraction unit 150 determines that there is an additional target hidden by the obstacle, the shooting range setting unit 180 may set the shooting range for the obstacle. Alternatively, when the obstacle determining unit 170 determines that the firearm cannot shoot through the obstacle, the shooting range setting unit 180 may set the shooting range only for the target extracted by the target extracting unit 150 . The shooting range setting unit 180 may set the shooting range or automatically set the shooting range according to a user input.

The control signal generating unit 190 performs a function of generating a shooting control signal so that the firearm performs shooting in the shooting range set by the shooting range setting unit 180 . The fire control signal may include information such as an azimuth, an elevation, and a distance for the shooting range, arranged so that the firearm can aim the firing range.

Based on the configuration of the remote firearm control apparatus 100 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , embodiments of a method for setting a shooting range in the remote firearm control apparatus 100 will be described below.

5 shows a first embodiment of setting a shooting range in the remote firearm control device. 5 shows a display panel 121a on which an image received from the communication unit 110 is displayed and a display panel 121b on which a shooting range selected according to the first embodiment is additionally displayed.

The first target 51 and the second target 52 are partially exposed by the obstacles 41 and 42, respectively. The target extraction unit 150 extracts a portion 31 and 32 of the exposed target, and the target identification unit 161 identifies the targets 51 and 52 based on the extracted target portions 31 and 32 .

Assuming that the first target 51 and the second target 52 are identified as “soldiers”, the metadata search unit 162 searches for metadata about the sample shape of the “soldiers”, and the target model generation unit 163 generates a target model based on the retrieved metadata. In this case, the target model generator 163 generates a target model so that the posture and size of the searched 3D image match the posture and size of each target.

The display unit 120 displays the target models 61 and 62 on the display panel 121b to match the respective targets 51 and 52 .

The shooting range setting unit 180 sets shooting ranges 71 and 72 for the entire shape of the target modeled through the target model. In the first embodiment, the shooting ranges 71 and 72 are set automatically, but otherwise may be set by the user. Since the overall shape of the modeled target is displayed on the display panel 121b, the user can set a shooting range even for a target obscured by an obstacle. The control signal generating unit 190 may generate a shooting control signal so that the firearm performs shooting in the generated shooting range.

6 shows a second embodiment of setting a shooting range in the remote firearm control device. 6 shows a display panel 122a on which an image received from the communication unit 110 is displayed and a display panel 122b on which a shooting range selected according to the second embodiment is additionally displayed.

The first target 53 and the second target 54 are partially exposed by the obstacles 43 and 44, respectively. By the obstacle determining unit 170, the material of the first obstacle 43 is identified as a steel plate, so it is determined that the firearm cannot shoot through it, and the second obstacle 44 is identified as a bush so that the firearm can shoot through it. It is assumed that the case is judged to be

The target extraction unit 150 extracts a portion of the exposed target (33, 34), and the target identification unit 161 identifies the target (53, 54) based on the extracted target portion (33, 34). When the first target 53 and the second target 54 are identified as “soldiers”, the metadata search unit 162 searches for metadata about the sample shape of the “soldiers”, and the target model generation unit 163 . creates a target model based on the retrieved metadata. In this case, the target model generator 163 generates a target model so that the posture and size of the searched 3D image match the posture and size of each target.

The display unit 120 displays a display 63 indicating that it is impossible to shoot through the firearm with respect to the first obstacle 43 , and displays the target model 64 only for the second target 54 on the display panel 122b ) can be displayed.

The shooting range setting unit 180 sets a part 33 of the exposed target with respect to the first target 53 as the shooting range 73 and the overall shape of the target modeled through the target model with respect to the second target 54 . can be set as the shooting range 74 . The control signal generating unit 190 may generate a shooting control signal so that the firearm performs shooting in the set shooting range.

7 shows a third embodiment of setting a shooting range in the remote firearm control device. 7 illustrates a display panel 123a on which an image received from the communication unit 110 is displayed and a display panel 123b on which a shooting range selected according to the third embodiment is additionally displayed.

The first target 55 and the second target 56 are partially exposed by the obstacles 45 and 46, respectively. The target extraction unit 150 extracts a portion of the exposed target (35, 36), and the target identification unit 161 identifies the target (55, 56) based on the extracted target portion (35, 36).

The target identification unit 161 determines whether there is an additional target based on the target identification information. The target identification unit 161 identifies the first target 55 as a "soldier" and acquires the rank of the soldier, the military command worn by the soldier, etc. as additional identification information, and the soldier accompanying the target through the identified information Calculate the probability of existence. Assuming that the calculated probability is equal to or greater than the reference value, the target identification unit 161 determines that the identified soldier and personnel accompanying the soldier exist as additional targets covered by the obstacle. In addition, when the second target 56 is identified as a firearm requiring additional equipment to operate, the target identification unit 161 may determine that the additional equipment exists as an additional target hidden by the obstacle 46 .

The shooting range setting unit 180 sets the part 35 of the target exposed with respect to the first target 55 and the first obstacle 45 as the shooting range 75 , and the target exposed with respect to the second target 56 . A part of the 36 and the second obstacle 46 may be set as the shooting range 76 . The control signal generating unit 190 may generate a shooting control signal so that the firearm performs shooting in the set shooting range.

8 shows a fourth embodiment of setting a shooting range in the remote firearm control device. 8 is a display panel 124a on which an image captured by a CCD camera is displayed, a display panel 124b on which an image captured by a thermal imaging camera is displayed, and a display additionally displaying a shooting range selected according to the fourth embodiment. Panel 124c is shown.

In the image captured by the CCD camera, only a part 37 of the target 57 is exposed by the obstacle 47 . On the other hand, the image captured by the thermal imaging camera reveals the overall shape of the target 57 .

The thermal image model generator 164 generates a thermal image model by extracting the shape of the target 57 from the image captured by the thermal imaging camera.

The display unit 120 may display the thermal image model 65 generated by the thermal image model generating unit 164 to match the target 57 on the image captured by the CCD camera. The shooting range setting unit 180 may set the shooting range 77 with respect to the entire shape of the target modeled through the thermal image model 65 . The control signal generating unit 190 may generate a shooting control signal so that the firearm performs shooting in the generated shooting range.

Those of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains will understand that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without changing the technical spirit or essential features thereof. Therefore, it should be understood that the embodiments described above are illustrative in all respects and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is indicated by the following claims rather than the above detailed description, and all changes or modifications derived from the meaning and scope of the claims and their equivalent concepts should be interpreted as being included in the scope of the present invention. do.

11: Fire 12: Shooting Device
13: distance measuring sensor 14: driving body
31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37: part of the target
41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47: obstacles
51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57: target
61, 62, 64: Target model 65: Thermal imaging model
71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77: shooting range
100: remote fire control device 110: communication unit
120: display unit 130: input unit
140: storage unit 150: target extraction unit
160: shape modeling unit 161: target identification unit
162: metadata search unit 163: target model generation unit
164: thermal image model generation unit 170: obstacle determination unit
180: shooting range calculation unit 190: control signal generation unit

Claims (6)

A remote firearm control device for controlling a firearm having a photographing device, the remote firearm control device comprising:
a communication unit configured to receive an image photographed by the photographing device;
a target extraction unit for extracting a portion of the exposed target with respect to the target partially exposed by the obstacle in the image;
a shape modeling unit for modeling the entire shape of the target from a portion of the extracted target; and
and a shooting range setting unit configured to set a shooting range so that the firearm performs shooting with respect to the entire shape of the modeled target;
The shape modeling unit
a target identification unit for identifying the target from a portion of the extracted target;
a metadata retrieval unit for retrieving metadata about the shape of the identified target;
and a target model generator configured to generate a target model to match a portion of the extracted target from the retrieved metadata. delete According to claim 1,
The remote firearm control apparatus further comprising a display unit for displaying the entire shape of the modeled target on the image to match a part of the extracted target. According to claim 1,
Further comprising an obstacle determining unit for determining whether the firearm can shoot through the obstacle,
and the shooting range setting unit sets a shooting range for only a part of the extracted target when it is determined that the firearm cannot shoot through an obstacle. delete delete

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