The engineers from Sandia National Laboratories have invented a self guided bullet that guides itself to the target. The bullet works like a tiny guided missile.
katu reports:
According to Sandia Labs engineers, the bullet twists and turns to guide itself toward a laser-directed point. It can make up to thirty corrections per second while in the air, officials said.
Testing has shown the bullet can reach speeds of 2,400 feet per second. Researchers said they were confident the bullet could reach standard military speeds using customized gunpowder.
Computer simulations showed an unguided bullet under real-world conditions could miss a target more than a half mile away. But according to the patent, a guided bullet would get within eight inches.
Sandia Labs said the design for the 4-inch-long bullet includes an optical sensor in the nose to detect a laser beam on a target. The sensor sends information to guidance and control electronics that use an algorithm in an eight-bit central processing unit to command electromagnetic actuators. These actuators steer tiny fins that guide the bullet to the target.
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