Gun-Pointing Vector Instrumentation System is Revolutionary, Portable, Rugged.
Abstract
Measurement of gun-pointing accuracy has long been a challenge to those who must assess the highly sophisticated fire-control systems now pointing our most advanced weapons. The technology offered by laser rangers and high-speed computers no longer measure accuracy in yards, but in tenths of an inch. These accuracies are being achieved at U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground (YPG) via instrumentation known as the Gun-Pointing Vector Instrumentation System (GPVIS). The GPVIS program has taken an evolutionary path that led from the original concept of triangulation technique to a trilateration technique. The original GPVIS concept was a high-resolution optical imaging system that uses triangulation to precisely measure small changes in gun barrel position, distortion, pointing, and alignment. It was intended to use high-resolution linear-imaging arrays to minimize the number of imaging pixels, to facilitate data reduction and system networking, and to minimize system costs. This approach, though appealing on the surface, implies a hidden requirement for a robust, shock-hardened, and high-precision gimbaled stage. This requirement puts the triangulation approach on a highly risky path, because no such gimbaled rotary stage is available on a commercial off the shelf basis.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 20, 1997
- Accession Number
- ADA323490
Entities
Organizations
- United States Army Test and Evaluation Command