Patent ID: 6604064
Filing Date: 2003-08-05
Classification: G09B

Abstract:
A method for training a gunner operating a weapon from a platform experiencing pitching and rolling movement, the method comprising the steps of:placing the gunner on a platform, the gunner operating a demilitarized weapon therefrom; attaching a light source on the weapon for emitting an infrared beam therefrom along a line-of sight of the gunner; displaying a scene on a fixed screen for viewing by the gunner, wherein said scene is a prerecorded video image of landscape seen from a moving vehicle that simulates the terrain and targets viewed from the motorized military version of said demilitarized weapon; placing the eye of the gunner at an elevation of a horizon in the scene; locating a preselected target below the horizon within the scene; imparting a pitching and rolling movement to the platform in response to a preselected motion profile synchronized with the scene, wherein said motion profile simultaneously was recorded with and corresponds to motion associated with said prerecorded video image; aiming the weapon at the screen for placing an infrared spot thereon; continuously tracking the infrared spot on the scene; triggering the weapon for simulating a projectile emission from the weapon; identifying a location of the spot for the triggering step; making a ballistics correction for the simulated projectile, wherein the ballistics correction step comprises the steps of: determining a range to the target based on an angle of depression from the line-of-sight from the eye of the gunner to the horizon and a known fixed distance between the gunner and screen, and modifying the spot location identified for the triggering step based on a ballistic model consisting of factors selected from the group including exit velocity, projectile shape, projectile weight, gravity, aerodynamic retardation, and Coriolis effect; and determining a gunner performance based on the spot identifying step and the location of the preselected target.