Smart Armor: AI-Powered Real-Time Impact Detection and Threat Characterization in Composite Armor Systems

ABSTRACT :

My PhD develops a smart armor plate that analyses the impacts it receives. Accelerometers mounted on the plate record the waves that each impact sends through the metal, and an acquisition system designed in-house samples them at high speed. From these signals, the system finds where the plate was hit, identifies the threat (calibre, energy, angle of incidence) and assesses whether the plate still protects.

The work covers the whole chain, from the sensors and the electronics to the embedded acquisition system, the signal processing and the machine learning models. Everything is tested during live-fire campaigns with real ammunition, in collaboration with defence partners including the Royal Military Academy.

KEYWORDS : Structural Health Monitoring, Impact Localisation, Ballistics, Piezoelectric Sensors, Embedded Systems, Signal Processing, Machine Learning