ShotSpotter Unveils Multi-Layer Suite of Gunshot Location Systems for Military Market; Three New Wireless Systems Work Independently and in Concert for Redundant Levels of Protection.MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- ShotSpotter, the world leader in gunshot location detection systems, today announced a full line of solutions to protect military personnel in the field and in urban environments. The system consists of multiple redundant "layers" of protection. Each layer works equally effectively deployed independently or in concert with other layers. The rapidly changing and dynamic nature of modern military combat motivated ShotSpotter's decision to develop redundant protection layers which can interact with other layers when available or fall back to single layer performance when operating in an unsupported mode. Last December, U.S. Joint Forces Command announced that they conducted a test of unmanned aerial vehicle A powered, aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator, uses aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift, can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely, can be expendable or recoverable, and can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload. , gunshot detection and interoperation capabilities in urban environments as part of a U.S. Marine Corps exercise in Louisiana. "One of the primary goals for the experiment involved the testing of the ShotSpotter system, an acoustic locating system that cues a UAV UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle UAV Unmanned Air Vehicle UAV Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle UAV Unmanned Airborne Vehicle UAV Uninhabited Air Vehicle UAV Urban Assault Vehicle UAV Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle (less common) sensor to locate an enemy when he fires a weapon, whether on a battlefield or in an urban environment." In field-testing, the ShotSpotter wireless systems "provided improved awareness of the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance An activity that synchronizes and integrates the planning and operation of sensors, assets, and processing, exploitation, and dissemination systems in direct support of current and future operations. This is an integrated intelligence and operations function. Also called ISR. (ISR (Interrupt Service Routine) Software routine that is executed in response to an interrupt. ) data -- in near real-time with less than a ten-second delay," said Cdr. James Joyner James Joyner (born November 16, 1965) is best known as the founder and editor-in-chief of the weblog Outside The Beltway and a frequent contributor to TCS Daily (formerly Tech Central Station). He is a management analyst at Lanmark Technology, Inc., a Washington, D. , US Navy. In addition, the integration of "ground-based sensors with UAV sensors made it possible to visualize the shooter's location within seconds." Layer 1: Soldier-worn Available now, this highly-sophisticated soldier-worn gunshot location system A Gunshot Location System is a system which identifies the location of a gunshot or other weapons-fire using acoustic, optical or potentially other types of sensors. These systems are used by law enforcement, homeland security, military and commercial customers to identify the allows troops on the move to detect and locate gunshots and sniper-fire. Sensor devices weigh less than half a pound and are about the size of a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) A handheld computer for managing contacts, appointments and tasks. It typically includes a name and address database, calendar, to-do list and note taker, which are the functions in a personal information manager (see PIM). . The system immediately tells the small unit leader where a shot or multiple shots were fired from, and can deliver that information to others in the field. In one recent test performed by US Joint Forces Command, for example, ShotSpotter sensors successfully located weapons fire and immediately transmitted that information to an unmanned flying vehicle (UAV), such as the Scan Eagle or Predator, thereby providing friendly forces video of the shooter. "This technology is a must-have for our men and women deployed in harm's way harm's way n. A risky position; danger: a place for the children that is out of harm's way; ships that sail into harm's way. ," said Maj. General (Ret.) Steve Siegfried, vice chairman, ShotSpotter. "Of all the coalition troops lost to date in Iraq, the single highest cause of death was hostile small arms small arms, firearms designed primarily to be carried and fired by one person and, generally, held in the hands, as distinguished from heavy arms, or artillery. Early Small Arms The first small arms came into general use at the end of the 14th cent. fire. The soldier-worn system gives them mobile protection and the advantage of instantly knowing where hostile fire In insurance law, a combustion that cannot be controlled, that escapes from where it was initially set and confined, or one that was not intended to exist. A hostile fire differs from a friendly fire, which burns in a place where it was intended to burn, such as one confined is coming from." Layer 2: Vehicle-mounted A second layer of protection is provided by ShotSpotter designed specifically for convoy and/or vehicle protection, whether on the move or stationary. These sensors are capable of locating a solo vehicle detect sniper fire. The system works seamlessly with both soldier-worn systems and fixed, installed sensors, so that as the convoy moves, the vehicle-mounted sensors blend in Verb 1. blend in - blend or harmonize; "This flavor will blend with those in your dish"; "This sofa won't go with the chairs" blend, go fit, go - be the right size or shape; fit correctly or as desired; "This piece won't fit into the puzzle" with other grids. These sensors, too, can be integrated with cameras mounted on the vehicles and aimed at the direction of enemy fire or used in concert with UAVs for aerial visual of the direction of fire. Layer 3: Fixed installations A third layer, for deployment around temporary or fixed locations consists of a rapid-deployment wireless version of the time-tested ShotSpotter Gunshot Location System that has been deployed in cities across the US for the past several years. Sensors can be quickly and easily installed on walls, posts and rooftops to form a complete grid that detects and locates gunfire and instantly relays that information to a visual display. The ShotSpotter technology is proven in difficult urban environments, and can be taken down and re-deployed as needed as needed prn. See prn order. . Developed using intellectual property acquired during ShotSpotter's recent merger with Centurist Systems, the wireless gunshot detection systems are covered by US patents, both issued and pending. All three layers use the same core ShotSpotter technologies which filter out the echoes which cripple competitive systems when they are deployed in urban environments. Using ShotSpotter's patented spatial filter A spatial filter is an optical device which uses the principles of Fourier optics to alter the structure of a beam of coherent light or other electromagnetic radiation. Spatial filtering is commonly used to "clean up" the output of lasers, removing aberrations in the beam due to architecture, the system can be set to filter in or out "non-threat" events (such as fire crackers, car backfires, etc.). About ShotSpotter, Inc., (www.shotspotter.com) ShotSpotter, Inc., the leading developer of gunshot location systems and technology, is based in Mountain View, CA. ShotSpotter's flagship product A primary product of a company, which is typically why the company was founded and/or what made it well known. For example, MS-DOS, Windows and the Microsoft Office suite have been flagship products of Microsoft. CorelDRAW is a flagship product of Corel Corporation. , which detects gunfire across large urban areas using a small number of inexpensive and easy-to-deploy sensors, currently protects the citizens of cities nationwide, from Los Angeles, CA to Charleston, SC. Its products recently assisted the FBI and the Franklin County Sheriff's Office in identifying and capturing the Columbus, Ohio highway sniper suspect. In 2000, ShotSpotter was honored for its technology vision and leadership when it won the Computerworld Smithsonian Laureate Award, having been nominated by William H. Gates, chairman and chief software architect of Microsoft Corporation, and the Smithsonian added its technology to the museum's permanent collection. With technology covered by a US Patent, and with other patents pending, the company also offers products to the homeland security and military markets. ShotSpotter technology has produced arrests and weapons confiscations nationwide and has helped reduce gunfire and crime rates in cities that deploy it. |
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