AN APPROACH TO LINE-OF-SIGHT PROBLEMS IN SURVEILLANCE-EQUIPMENT SPECIFICATION AND EVALUATION

Abstract

A generalization is developed that is useful in evaluating the effect of elevating a sensory device to improve the line-of-sight coverage. In a terrain having valleys of varying depth and hilltops all the same height, the fraction of a valley that is not in defilade tends to be proportional to the height of the vantage point and to the width of th valley. It is inversely pr por/io l to e r ge of the valley and to the depth of the valley. If the height times the width, divided by the range and the depth gives a number equal to or greater than four, substantially the whole of the valley can be seen. For terrains of this class characterized by random variation in the width-to-depth ratio, a simple dependence on this same number results, if the average width-to-depth ratio is used. There is also dependence on a second number which represents how consistent the roughness of the errain is. The development was extended to determine the area visible to airborne sidelooking and to all-around-looking surveillance devices as a function of their heights. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Nov 01, 1961
Accession Number
AD0266961

Entities

People

  • James M. Wolf

Organizations

  • University of Michigan

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Airborne
  • Communication Equipment
  • Line Of Sight
  • Radio Equipment
  • Roughness
  • Specifications
  • Surveillance
  • Target Designators
  • Test And Evaluation
  • Test Equipment
  • Weapons Support Equipment

Readers

  • Archaeological Resource Survey
  • Radar Systems Engineering.