SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR ARRANGING FIREARMS TRAINING SCENARIOS |
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申请号 | EP13751094.7 | 申请日 | 2013-01-23 | 公开(公告)号 | EP2802839B1 | 公开(公告)日 | 2017-07-12 |
申请人 | Marathon Robotics Pty Ltd; | 发明人 | BROOKS, Alex; KAUPP, Tobias; MAKARENKO, Alexei; | ||||
摘要 | |||||||
权利要求 | |||||||
说明书全文 | The present invention relates to systems and methods for arranging firearms training scenarios and particularly relates to firearms scenarios utilising robotic mobile targets. Armed personnel such as soldiers typically receive training to assist them in dealing with armed combat situations that they might encounter during their active duties. Such training can include training exercises using live ammunition such as practice in shooting at targets. Such training is crucial to the personnel's performance and safety in real life situations. There remains a need for improved systems and methods for training armed personnel. To date, such training has involved the use of static shooting targets, pop-up targets, and targets moved on tracks. For targets on tracks, the routes are defined by the tracks and the motion along those routes is controlled directly in real-time or is pre-defined on a computer screen. In some cases, mobile targets have been used in the form of a mannequin or the like mounted on a moveable platform on wheels. These may be directly radio-controlled by a human operator during a training exercise. This adds a significant workload to training exercises, particularly when multiple moving targets are required, and it is difficult to present multiple trainees with identical training scenarios. In some cases, these mobile targets have been programmed to move along a preprogrammed route in a training area to simulate persons moving about, and the personnel being trained must attempt to hit the mannequins. Route definition is performed on a computer screen. In other cases, the mobile targets are autonomous and the target's onboard computer generates the route for the target to follow according to constraints pre-defined on the computer screen. An example of such a system is described in the present applicant's International Patent application no In all cases, the intended outcome is to present targets to a trainee in some desired fashion. When presenting moving targets along tracks, considerable thought should be put into the routes of the tracks, since they are difficult to move subsequently. With the advent of trackless targets that can move along any route, novel methods of defining the routes are required to facilitate quick, easy, and intuitive generation of new routes. Problems with definition of routes on a computer screen include:
In accordance with independent claim 1 a first aspect the present invention provides a method of arranging a firearms training scenario utilising at least one robotic mobile target in a training area, the method including the steps of: sending commands to at least one robotic target in a training area to cause the target to operate in the training area; recording operations data representative of the operations carried out by the at least one robotic target; and subsequently conducting a training scenario in the training area wherein the at least one robotic target bases its actions at least partially on the previously recorded operations data. The operations data may include command data representative of at least some of the commands sent to the at least one robotic target. The operations data may include actions data representative of at least some of the actions carried out by the at least one robotic target in reacting to the commands. The operations data may include outcome data representative of at least some of the outcomes of executing the commands. The step of sending commands to the at least one robotic target may be carried out by a human operator using a remote control input device. The step of sending commands may be carried out whilst the human operator is situated at a location in the training area where the at least one of the trainees will be situated during the step of conducting the training scenario. The operations data may be recorded by the at least one robotic target. The operations data may include data representative of the location, orientation or velocity of the at least one robotic target in the training area. The operations data may include data representative of any of sounds produced by the at least one robotic target, raising or lowering of simulated weapons, deployment of special effects by the at least one robotic target or at least one robotic target remaining static. During the step of conducting the training scenario, the at least one robotic target may intentionally deviate from the operations data. The at least one robotic target may deviate from the operations data to avoid an obstacle. The at least one robotic target may randomly deviate from the operations data. The scenario may utilise more than one robotic target and each base their operations on their own set of operations data. The at least one robotic target may commence operations in the training scenario following the elapsing of a pre-determined interval of time, or in response to detecting personnel in the training area, or in response to detecting movement of another target in the training area. In accordance with the independent claim 14 a second aspect the present invention provides a system for use in conducting a firearms training scenario utilising at least one robotic mobile target in a training area, the system including: sending means for sending commands to at least one robotic target in a training area to cause the target to operate in the training area; recording means for recording operations data representative of the operations carried out by the at least one robotic target; the at least one robotic target is arranged to participate in a firearms training scenario in the training area; and wherein the at least one robotic target is arranged to base its actions at least partially on recorded operations data. The operations data may include command data representative of commands sent to the at least one robotic target. The operations data may include actions data representative of actions carried out by the at least one robotic target in reacting to commands. The operations data may include outcome data representative of outcomes of executing the commands. The sending means may include a remote control input device. The recording means may be embodied in the at least one robotic target. The operations data may include data representative of the location, orientation or velocity of the at least one robotic target in the training area. The operations data may include data representative of any of sounds produced by the at least one robotic target, raising or lowering of simulated weapons, deployment of special effects by the at least one robotic target or at least one robotic target remaining static. The at least one robotic target may be arranged to intentionally deviate from the operations data. The at least one robotic target may be arranged to deviate from the operations data to avoid an obstacle. The at least one robotic target may be arranged to randomly deviate from the operations data. The system may include more than one robotic target. The at least one robotic targets may be arranged to commence actions following the elapsing of a pre-determined interval of time, or in response to detecting personnel in the training area, or in response to detecting movement of another target in the training area. In this specification the following terms have the following intended meanings:
In embodiments of the invention, a human operator manually controls the operations of one target in a recording session. This can be achieved through the use of a remote user interface. The target records its operations. The operator later commands the target to replay the operations any number of times, for the benefit of the same or different trainees. The operations of the mobile units may include any of: sounds produced by the mobile units, movements of the mobile units, raising or lowering of simulated weapons, deployment of special effects by the mobile units, changes in velocity or direction of the mobile units or mobile units remaining static. The target may be unable to faithfully replay the previously recorded operations. It may happen for example if it encounters an obstacle which was not in the training area at the time of the recording. In this case the target may use its sensors to detect the obstacle and navigate safely around it while attempting to return to the original path as soon as practicable. Instead of faithfully replaying the original sequence of operations, the target may be instructed to alter some of the parameters during replay. The change in the parameters may be random or repeatable, or a combination of the two. Random changes make the actions of the robots more unpredictable, and therefore, more challenging for the trainees. Repeatable changes allow the instructor to fine-tune the scenario to the training needs of a particular trainee. Repeatable changes are also well-suited for firearms training courses where it is desirable that each trainee faces essentially the same training scenario. The replay of recorded operations may be triggered manually by the instructor or automatically, based on a timer, or actions of other targets, or sensed actions of human participants in the exercise. Operations of multiple targets may also be recorded and replayed using the described approach. The recording can be achieved by multiple instructors controlling multiple targets simultaneously, or by one instructor controlling one target at a time. An embodiment of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
Referring to Robot 100 includes a laser rangefinder 13 to enable it to detect features in the local environment to thereby see around. Fixed and moving obstacles are detected by analysing each laser scan. When an obstacle is detected in the robot's intended motion path, the motion plan is modified to safely navigate around it. Referring to Firearms instructor 41 positions himself at the south edge of the exercise area to observe the area from the position of where the trainee(s) will be later situated. The instructor sends a sequence of remote commands 51 to the target 31 using a specialised remote control hand-held device. The device includes a joystick for inputting directional commands along with other buttons for sending commands to carry out other types of operations, such as deploy special effects as will be later described. Desired speed of movement of the target in any direction is indicated by the instructor by the degree of deflection applied to the joystick. The remote control device communicates with the target 31 by radio communication. The instructor can issue the following commands to the target:
The target 31 operates in the training area in response to the commands it receives. The target also records operations data representative of the operations that are carried out. The operations data recorded includes data representative of the commands issued and also data indicative of the operation steps carried out in response to the commands. For example, if the target reacts to directional commands to move between certain positions in the training area, then it records these operations in the form of positional outcomes of executing these commands by storing GPS coordinate data of the points that it moved between in the form of waypoints. This ensures that the movements made subsequently by the target during the replay of a training scenario are a faithful reproduction of the movements witnessed by the instructor at the time of recording the scenario. The recorded operations data enables compensation for variations in conditions such as increased wheel slippage of targets in wet weather or other minor variations in conditions. Target 31 may record the following outcomes resulting from executing operator commands:
The instructor commands the target to move along the path 36 from position 71 behind the wall 15, out into the open area, in front of and around the barrel 18, and to its final position 72 behind the wall 17. Target 31 operates in the training area by executing the commands received from the instructor. The target 31 records its operations in the form of operations data which includes data representative of the commands and also data representative of the actions taken in reacting to the commands. The instructor also provides information to the target as to the future intended location of trainees in the training exercise. The remote control device includes its own GPS positioning capability and a button which indicates "I'm at the Trainee Location". The remote localises itself and sends the location to the robotic target which saves it for future use. Alternatively, the instructor drives the target to the intended trainee location by way of joystick control and pushes a button which indicates "You're at the Trainee Location". The robot uses its own GPS positioning system to determine the location and saves it for future use. Referring to Referring to In In Referring to The record of changes in the target's position over time forms the target's trajectory. The record of other operations, e.g. audio effects, may be correlated to the recorded trajectory. This type of geo-referencing enables more faithful reproduction of the original target presentation. For example, the audio effect was intended to be played by target 31 at position 74 and not simply 15 seconds after the start of motion. Referring to In the replay session, the robotic target uses the previously recorded operations data to plan and carry out actions by way of its various actuators in an attempt to reproduce the outcomes of the recording session. The ability of the robots to maintain estimates of their own positions within the training area is important for their ability to repeat the operations that they took in response to the commands. In the embodiments described above, the robots 100 carried GPS receivers to localise themselves within the training range. In other embodiments the robots may localise themselves by way of any of many methods described in the literature, e.g. tracking range and bearing to laser reflecting beacons, measuring signal strength of radio beacons, or detecting buried magnets. In the embodiments described above, the robots 100 carried laser rangefinders to sense objects and movements of objects in front of them. In other embodiments the robots may sense objects and movements of objects by way of other sensors such as cameras, radars or sonars. After the obstacles in the robot's vicinity are detected, one of many well-known obstacle avoidance algorithms may be employed to calculate a safe motion plan which avoids collision with the obstacles. In various scenarios, the robots might perform the following variations to the previously recorded operations, or a combination of these variations:
In the embodiments described above, the replay of recorded operations was triggered manually by the instructor. In other embodiments it may be triggered automatically, based on a timer, or actions of other targets, or sensed actions of human participants in the exercise. With a user interface, the operator may also want to pause the replay somewhere in the middle, or to begin replay part-way through the activity sequence. Operations of multiple targets may also be recorded and replayed. In the embodiments described above, the operations of multiple targets were recorded in parallel, i.e. multiple operators control multiple targets simultaneously. With this approach, the timing of the targets' actions relative to one-another is also captured. In other embodiments the operations of multiple targets may be recorded in series, i.e. a single operator controls the targets one after another, and then assembles the individual activities into a coordinated scenario. During replay of multi-target recordings, the targets begin their activities on one of the triggers listed above (the two simplest approaches being that all activities begin simultaneously, or each activity is triggered independently by the operator). Some form of dynamic obstacle avoidance may be needed when multiple robots operate in close proximity to one-another. The operator can stand anywhere while recording the target's activity, but there are two advantageous locations:
In the embodiments described above, the remote commands are sent to the robot using a specialised hand-held device. In other embodiments the remote commands could be sent using a computer, phone, gaming device, etc. In the embodiments described above, the remote commands are sent to the robot using a wifi connection. In other embodiments the remote commands could be sent using any radio or a wired link. In the embodiments described above, the firearms training exercises were carried out using live ammunition. In other embodiments the ammunition used could be simunition (simulated ammunition) or the firearms may be replaced by or augmented with lasers and laser targets to simulate ammunition. In the embodiment described above, the armed personnel taking part in the training exercise were soldiers. Similarly, embodiments of the invention have application in training other types of people such as security guards, members of private military companies, law enforcement officers, and private citizens who may be members of a gun club or shooting academy. It can be seen that embodiments of the invention have at least one of the following advantages:
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