Infrared sniper detection enhancement

Abstract

Firing of small arms results in a muzzle flash that produces a distinctive ignature conducive to automated or machine-aided detection with an IR (infrared) imager. The muzzle flash is intense and abrupt in the 3 to 5 .mu.m band. A sniper detection system operating in the 3 to 5 .mu.m region must deal with the potential problem of false alarms from solar clutter. The invention reduces the false alarm rate of an IR based muzzle flash or bullet tracking system (during day time) by adding a visible light (standard video) camera. The standard video camera helps detect (and then discount) potential sources of false alarm caused by solar clutter. If a flash is detected in both the IR and the visible spectrum at the same time, then the flash is most probably the result of solar clutter from a moving object. If a flash is detected only in the IR, then it is most probably a true weapon firing event.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.