Bolometric infrared quadrant detectors and uses with firearm applications

A tracking system, comprising:

• a thermal position sensor, comprising:
• a collection of micro-bolometers, each of the micro-bolometers having an electrical resistance, and each of the micro-bolometers comprising a substrate and an absorptive element, the absorptive element being suspended above the substrate and configured to absorb infrared radiation, including 10-micron long-wavelength infrared radiation, and wherein a change in a temperature of the micro-bolometer caused by infrared radiation incident on the absorptive element causes a change in the resistance of the micro-bolometer;
• wherein the collection of micro-bolometers is partitioned into a first quadrant of the sensor, a second quadrant of the sensor, a third quadrant of the sensor, and a fourth quadrant of the sensor, each of the quadrants representing a 90-degree segment of the sensor and comprising at least one micro-bolometer of the collection of micro-bolometers;
• and wherein each of the quadrants comprises at least one output signal that provides information indicative of a temperature of the quadrant based on a resistance associated with the at least one micro-bolometer of the quadrant;
• an optical element configured to receive infrared radiation and focus the infrared radiation into a beam of infrared radiation on the thermal position sensor;
• an electronic unit configured to receive the at least one output signal from each of the quadrants of the thermal position sensor and determine a position of the beam of infrared radiation on the thermal position sensor relative to first, second, third and fourth quadrants of the thermal position sensor, the electronic unit further configured to determine a positional adjustment and provide one or more command signals representing the positional adjustment;
• and
• a positioning element configured to receive the one or more command signals from the electronic unit and positionally adjust one or more components of the tracking system based on the received one or more command signals.

A tracking system, comprising:

• a bipod comprising a first leg and a second leg orthogonal to the first leg, the bipod further comprising a first positioning element and a second positioning element, the first positioning element configured to adjust a distance between a first end of the first leg and a second end of the first leg, and the second positioning element configured to adjust a distance between a first end of the second leg and a second end of the second leg;
• a thermal position sensor, comprising:
• a collection of micro-bolometers, each of the micro-bolometers having an electrical resistance, and each of the micro-bolometers comprising a substrate and an absorptive element, the absorptive element being suspended above the substrate and configured to absorb infrared radiation, including 10-micron long-wavelength infrared radiation, and wherein a change in a temperature of the micro-bolometer caused by infrared radiation incident on the absorptive element causes a change in the resistance of the micro-bolometer;
• wherein the collection of micro-bolometers is partitioned into a first quadrant of the sensor, a second quadrant of the sensor, a third quadrant of the sensor, and a fourth quadrant of the sensor, each of the quadrants representing a 90-degree segment of the sensor and comprising at least one micro-bolometer of the collection of micro-bolometers;
• and wherein each of the quadrants comprises at least one output signal that provides information indicative of a temperature of the quadrant based on a resistance associated with the at least one micro-bolometer of the quadrant;
• an optical element configured to receive infrared radiation and focus the infrared radiation into a beam of infrared radiation on the thermal position sensor;
• and
• electronic unit configured to receive the at least one output signal from each of the quadrants of the thermal position sensor and determine a position of the beam of infrared radiation on the thermal position sensor relative to first, second, third and fourth quadrants of the thermal position sensor, the electronic unit further configured to determine a positional adjustment and provide a first command signal to the first positioning element and a second command signal to the second positioning element.