From: Sandy Sandfort <sandfort@crl.com>
Date: Sun, 29 May 94 11:29:27 PDT
To: Arsen Ray Arachelian <rarachel@prism.poly.edu>
Subject: Re: "lifeguard(?)": bullet tracking system???
In-Reply-To: <9405291756.AA18068@prism.poly.edu>
Message-ID: <Pine.3.87.9405291109.A29964-0100000@crl2.crl.com>
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain


C'punks,

On Sun, 29 May 1994, Arsen Ray Arachelian wrote:

> Hey guys, I heard a blurb on the radio a few days abo about something called
> "lifeguard" which can track the source of gunfire.  My guess is that they
> use acoustics for this.

It does.  I saw something about in Popular Science, I think.  It 
strategically placed microphones to triangulate the origin of the shots.

> I don't know how they can claim that it wouldn't be
> confused by non-gun noises, nor what silencers would do to this thing.

There aren't many sounds that are really that similar to gun shots.  For 
one thing most rounds are supersonic unlike firecrackers and car backfires.
There really is no such thing as a "silencer" outside of the movies.  
*Sound supressors* work marginally well for subsonic rounds.  They are 
pretty much useless for supersonic rounds.
 
> They also mentioned that some models can be fitted with guns so as to auto
> matically return fire...

Please.  This is the purest nonsense.  The microphone system only works 
well enough to get the cops to the general vacinity of the shooting.  
However the real issue is legal presumptions and liability.  Ain't gonna 
happen here pardner.


 S a n d y