Shown uppermost is the first prototype of a handheld artillery spotting device developed as a student capstone project at West Point. The blue board to upper left is pretty clearly an Arduino Mega. You can see, in the near upper corner of that board, where the DC power jack has been desoldered and the pads hardwired (presumably) to a battery pack.. The system, called DemonEye, is now reportedly undergoing field testing:
West Point cadet Derek Wales, an electrical engineering major, was watching Internet video of a firefight in Afghanistan and saw that U.S. soldiers pinpointing enemy snipers for artillery fire were fumbling with GPS equipment and compasses. Wales, with fellow EE majors John Eischer and George Hopkins, designed a lightweight target-location module. Called DemonEye, the device incorporates a laser rangefinder, digital compass, GPS and mini computer to calculate target locations rapidly and accurately. Using commercial off-the-shelf components, the DemonEye prototype cost $1,000.
Hack a Day reader and cybersecurity blogger Miguel A. Hernandez gets credit for the spot. Good lookin’ out, Miguel!
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