Engineers at the Air Force Research Lab’s Munitions Directorate wanted to explore the idea of using replicated gunshots for military and possible civilian law-enforcement use.
Real life - logistics, tactics, and strategy - limit the options of the firearms operator with regard to enemy engagement. The existence of a device that can accurately replicate gunshot acoustic signatures to change the offensive or defensive dynamic present interesting advantages for our operators. Such a device would increase effectiveness and safety of the operator; increase mission impact; reduced ammunition expenditures.
They engaged Wright Brothers Institute’s Rapid Prototyping team for ideas and possible applications. The WBI team quickly pulled together a half-day workshop, inviting police officers from local jurisdictions, AFRL engineers, and experts from the Great Lakes Biomimicry, an entrepreneurial non-profit based in Cleveland that helps organizations learn from nature to accelerate innovation.
Not surprisingly, the diversity of participants brought out a wide range of ideas as the group listened to particular needs of law enforcement, for example, and how they differed from military.
Crowd control, confusing the enemy, influencing behavior, creating a diversion without starting a conflict: These and other topics contributed to a lively discussion that resulted in WBI’s team planning a trip to the Kettering (Ohio) Police Department training facilities to collect more information and, undoubtedly, expand the idea of what’s possible.