In the development of precision guided munitions, information about the harsh environment inside the gun barrel during firing is of critical importance. The collection of accurate acceleration and pressure data, as well as other performance parameters (stress, temperature, etc.) is essential to ensuring the accuracy of these munitions when fielded.

Continued in-flight recording of data, such as set-back and set-forward acceleration, spin rate, and guidance, navigation and control data also is paramount to the development of cost-effective precision munitions. To obtain information about the nature of these environments, a data acquisition system (an On-Board Recorder, or OBR) is placed in an inert projectile and fired. Units are located after impact and connected to a computer to retrieve the recorded data.  

At present, an OBR is in use providing data in support of the XM982 Excalibur program, the MRM (Medium Range Munitions) program, IMU (Inertial Measurement Unit) Development and other ARDEC programs as well as outside customers.

The Army's current OBR only fits in 155 mm projectiles and it has serious shortcomings - resolution, sample speed, channel capacity, programmability and ease of use are among the most significant. Additionally, without a smaller OBR, the development of precision guided 120mm and 105mm projectiles is severely hindered.

Other agencies within the U.S. Department of Defense also currently rely on antiquated OBR designs. The Air Force, for example, has expressed a need for an improved miniaturized device, which it needs for developing improved "bunker-buster" bombs. It also wants to retrieve data from the OBR wirelessly.

Techshot is developing an advanced OBR that rectifies the old version's shortcomings - including the ability to fit in 155 mm, 120 mm and 105 mm projectiles. 

Other improvements, such as miniaturization, shock-hardening to 100,000 times the force of gravity and the inclusion of a wireless communications capability, make the Techshot OBR valuable to many other military branches beyond the Army. Advancements in miniaturization and manufacturability also will enable the development of new research programs with calibers significantly smaller than 105 mm.

The maturation of advanced OBR technology will have immediate utility for manufacturers of guidance and navigation systems, projectiles, fuzes, and other munitions related products. Moreover, the technology eveloped will be suitable to any commercial application where data collection at high sampling rates is required, particularly where a rugged self-powered data recording module is desirable.