This project began as a Software Systems Safety effort and culminated in developing a custom hardware/software Slew-to-Cue system.

We initially performed a thorough safety analysis of a recent software revision of the ROSAM, (also known as the MK-49 MOD 0). We discovered a number of hazards. The system’s vendor corrected the issues and we proceeded to test, document and analyze the system, obtaining SSSTRP and WSESRB approval.

Based on this success, our Navy client asked us to build a Slew-to-Cue Interface for the ROSAM:

• Get the location of the target the camera is pointing at (elevation, azimuth and range)
• Point the Gun Mount at the same spot

This required solving the parallax problem. Using some advanced trigonometry, we developed custom algorithms to compensate for:

• parallax in both azimuth and elevation
• the pitch and roll of the camera
• the pitch and roll of the gun mount
• the gun’s length and offset from the center of the mount, etc.

Our client’s goal was to get the gun pointing close enough to the target that the operator could see the target on his display screen – we got the target in the center of the crosshairs!

Following this success, our client asked us to get target location from a Military radar and point the gun mount at a specific track (target). We added TCP/IP and UDP communications to our software. We converted the GPS target location from the radar to an azimuth, elevation and range position, and soon had our gun following the radar track!

We went on to develop interfaces to a different gun mount (CROWS-II) and a different camera (Ascent Vision CUAS Suite) to support the Marine Corps’ new M-ATV.

The software was developed in the “C” programming language and runs under a Debian Linux operating system. The software has been fully documented: Requirements, Designs, Algorithms, Reviews, Hazard Analysis, etc. The system is highly configurable, enabling re-targeting the device to different gun mounts, cameras, and radars in matter of a few minutes. The software is also designed to be easily upgraded in the field, to incorporate new features and interfaces.

See also: 10x-better-accuracy-complete-flexibility