28 ms·

I commented below that it's marked by laser, but the counterargument was that if you can aim a laser you can aim a rifle. Let me rephrase: the goal of this syst

by ArikBe 12y ago

I commented below that it's marked by laser, but the counterargument was that if you can aim a laser you can aim a rifle. Let me rephrase: the goal of this system is to correct for deviations from the actual target which occur in the air. Because of wind, temperature, rotation of the earth (when taking really long shots) and other factors a marksman might have to adjust his or her aim and actually aim off-target to get the bullet on target. However, using this system you would just keep the crosshairs on target and the bullet will correct itself in the air to hit that target. I think that aiming the rifle in a different spot is only done for test purposes. I can't imagine why you would want to create a system that automatically determines the target instead of letting a trained marksman determine the target and help that marksman.

ahoodlum 12y ago
One of the aims of this program was to essentially give any 18 year old kid the tool set to perform like a highly trained sniper. There will still be a need for marksmanship training but this enables the minimum standard of marksmanship for its user to be akin to an expert. Ballistics computation is complicated but this simplifies it to a more straight-forward "point and shoot" approach that almost anyone can understand.
- phaus 12y ago
  Seems like a silly thing to focus on. Learning to shoot accurately is by far the easiest part of becoming a sniper.
  - XorNot 12y ago
    Think bigger: a drone at 2000 ft having to deal with the cross-wind from different altitudes.
    - spingsprong 12y ago
      Drones don't use 50cal machine guns. What they use is missiles and bombs, and they've been guided for decades.
      - moe 12y ago
        Just guessing, but maybe future drone models (esp. low altitude ones) will use machine guns?
        spingsprong 12y ago
        These bullets are not going to be used from a machine gun. It would make zero sense. They're for long range sniping.
        moe 12y ago
        Well, sniper drones then?
        BugBrother 12y ago
        Cough... five comments and no one wonder about the possibility of shooting at drones with this rifle?
        bmelton 12y ago
        Impractical. The effective ceiling of an MQ1 Predator is 25,000 feet, which approximates to 4.5 miles. The effective range of a Barrett M82 (50 Caliber rifle) is approximately 6,000 feet, and that's not shooting straight up. Point blank (which, despite the common vernacular meaning 'really close', actually means 'the range of the bullet before you have to adjust for elevation') is 1500 feet, past that, gravity begins taking over. TL;DR, the range of a Predator drone is definitely greater than the naked eye's visibility range, and even with optics, target acquisition is nearly impossible, and even if it weren't, unless it's flying very low relative to its ceiling, you can't hit it anyway.
  - mikeyouse 12y ago
    That may be true, but the harder parts about being a sniper get a lot easier if you're as accurate from a mile as today's snipers are from 200M.
    - beachstartup 12y ago
      i don't know... i think the missions will just get harder. or remain just as hard, to up the success %.
      - elmin 12y ago
        Yes, either of those would make the project a success, no?
Crito 12y ago
> I think that aiming the rifle in a different spot is only done for test purposes I could imagine some scenarios where indirect fire, perhaps coordinated with a drone that can light up the target with the laser, could be useful.
pmorici 12y ago
I took it to mean that the rifles physical aim is independent of what the bullet is being aimed at through that video system.
hueving 12y ago
Why would the rotation of the earth matter? It's a constant speed and the person that fires it is rotating with the earth so the rotation is already part of the trajectory of the bullet. So is the wind for that matter.
- nkurz 12y ago
  At long ranges (1 km+), the rotation of the earth affects both the horizontal and vertical point of impact. A summary is here: http://thearmsguide.com/5329/external-ballistics-the-coriolis-effect-6-theory-section/ http://thearmsguide.com/5329/external-ballistics-the-corioli... Wind has a larger effect that is evident even at shorter ranges. Bullets are fast, but during their time of flight they are blown around by the wind just like any other object passing through the air.
- jasamer 12y ago
  Two points on earth with different latitudes move at different speeds. The effect that affects the bullets is known as the coriolis effect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_effect).
jcr 12y ago
> "I commented below that it's marked by laser, but the counterargument was that if you can aim a laser you can aim a rifle. Let me rephrase..." Some things never change... spotter: acquire the target. sniper: rodger. target acquired. spotter: laser paint the target. sniper: what color? spotter: we should paint it blue according to IEEE 802.11eeek sniper: But we're on the *RED* team! Not the blue team! dummy! spotter: Don't call me a dummy. I read the IEEE spec. Did you? sniper: We should paint it RED! according to IETF RFC-31337 spotter: No! No! No! 802.11eek clearly says blue! sniper: I'M CERTAIIN IT SHOULD BE RED!!!111`` spotter: calm down or you'll miss (again, haha) and just use blue. sniper: you started it with the "No!No!No!" crap. I want red. spotter: you're too frustrated to type "certain" correctly. blue. sniper: but I really wanted red, impending doom an all that. spotter: with blue you'll get purple if you hit the damn target! sniper: Oops! too late. target lost. he hid behind that bikeshed. (sigh) Where is PHK when we need him?
lloeki 12y ago
Also, everyone seem to assume the laser comes from or near the rifle, when it could come from a much closer team member for various reasons. Easier to conceal both a laser and yourself than a full blown sniper+weapon in shooting position. Alternatively, moving targets. All sorts of known strategies applicable to e.g Hellfires come to mind (sorry for the dubious reference and descriptions, I recently unearthed old Comanche 3 and Longbow games): shoot timed salvos and light up targets in sequence, shoot blind and hidden then pop up and light up at the last second...

by ArikBe 12y ago

ahoodlum 12y ago

One of the aims of this program was to essentially give any 18 year old kid the tool set to perform like a highly trained sniper. There will still be a need for marksmanship training but this enables the minimum standard of marksmanship for its user to be akin to an expert. Ballistics computation is complicated but this simplifies it to a more straight-forward "point and shoot" approach that almost anyone can understand.

phaus 12y ago
Seems like a silly thing to focus on. Learning to shoot accurately is by far the easiest part of becoming a sniper.
- XorNot 12y ago
  Think bigger: a drone at 2000 ft having to deal with the cross-wind from different altitudes.
  - spingsprong 12y ago
    Drones don't use 50cal machine guns. What they use is missiles and bombs, and they've been guided for decades.
    - moe 12y ago
      Just guessing, but maybe future drone models (esp. low altitude ones) will use machine guns?
      - spingsprong 12y ago
        These bullets are not going to be used from a machine gun. It would make zero sense. They're for long range sniping.
        moe 12y ago
        Well, sniper drones then?
        BugBrother 12y ago
        Cough... five comments and no one wonder about the possibility of shooting at drones with this rifle?
        bmelton 12y ago
        Impractical. The effective ceiling of an MQ1 Predator is 25,000 feet, which approximates to 4.5 miles. The effective range of a Barrett M82 (50 Caliber rifle) is approximately 6,000 feet, and that's not shooting straight up. Point blank (which, despite the common vernacular meaning 'really close', actually means 'the range of the bullet before you have to adjust for elevation') is 1500 feet, past that, gravity begins taking over. TL;DR, the range of a Predator drone is definitely greater than the naked eye's visibility range, and even with optics, target acquisition is nearly impossible, and even if it weren't, unless it's flying very low relative to its ceiling, you can't hit it anyway.
- mikeyouse 12y ago
  That may be true, but the harder parts about being a sniper get a lot easier if you're as accurate from a mile as today's snipers are from 200M.
  - beachstartup 12y ago
    i don't know... i think the missions will just get harder. or remain just as hard, to up the success %.
    - elmin 12y ago
      Yes, either of those would make the project a success, no?

Crito 12y ago

> I think that aiming the rifle in a different spot is only done for test purposes I could imagine some scenarios where indirect fire, perhaps coordinated with a drone that can light up the target with the laser, could be useful.

pmorici 12y ago

I took it to mean that the rifles physical aim is independent of what the bullet is being aimed at through that video system.

hueving 12y ago

Why would the rotation of the earth matter? It's a constant speed and the person that fires it is rotating with the earth so the rotation is already part of the trajectory of the bullet. So is the wind for that matter.

nkurz 12y ago
At long ranges (1 km+), the rotation of the earth affects both the horizontal and vertical point of impact. A summary is here: http://thearmsguide.com/5329/external-ballistics-the-coriolis-effect-6-theory-section/ http://thearmsguide.com/5329/external-ballistics-the-corioli... Wind has a larger effect that is evident even at shorter ranges. Bullets are fast, but during their time of flight they are blown around by the wind just like any other object passing through the air.
jasamer 12y ago
Two points on earth with different latitudes move at different speeds. The effect that affects the bullets is known as the coriolis effect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_effect http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coriolis_effect).

jcr 12y ago

> "I commented below that it's marked by laser, but the counterargument was that if you can aim a laser you can aim a rifle. Let me rephrase..." Some things never change... spotter: acquire the target. sniper: rodger. target acquired. spotter: laser paint the target. sniper: what color? spotter: we should paint it blue according to IEEE 802.11eeek sniper: But we're on the *RED* team! Not the blue team! dummy! spotter: Don't call me a dummy. I read the IEEE spec. Did you? sniper: We should paint it RED! according to IETF RFC-31337 spotter: No! No! No! 802.11eek clearly says blue! sniper: I'M CERTAIIN IT SHOULD BE RED!!!111`` spotter: calm down or you'll miss (again, haha) and just use blue. sniper: you started it with the "No!No!No!" crap. I want red. spotter: you're too frustrated to type "certain" correctly. blue. sniper: but I really wanted red, impending doom an all that. spotter: with blue you'll get purple if you hit the damn target! sniper: Oops! too late. target lost. he hid behind that bikeshed. (sigh) Where is PHK when we need him?

lloeki 12y ago

Also, everyone seem to assume the laser comes from or near the rifle, when it could come from a much closer team member for various reasons. Easier to conceal both a laser and yourself than a full blown sniper+weapon in shooting position. Alternatively, moving targets. All sorts of known strategies applicable to e.g Hellfires come to mind (sorry for the dubious reference and descriptions, I recently unearthed old Comanche 3 and Longbow games): shoot timed salvos and light up targets in sequence, shoot blind and hidden then pop up and light up at the last second...