Kevin Yi-Wei Lin

Hyperion Technology Group, Inc. (Tupelo, MS)

Sound Intelligence: Passive Acoustic Applications in Defense

Passive acoustic techniques offer a critical advantage on the battlefield: the ability to gather situational awareness without actively emitting probing waves, unlike sonar or radar, which can compromise the user's position. One focus of Hyperion Technology Group, Inc. (Tupelo, MS) is developing such sensor systems, including hostile Fire Fast Locating sensor (FireFLY), Scalable Passive Acoustic Reporting & Targeting Nodes (SPARTN) and more. FireFLY is an omni-directional microphone array designed for gunshot and Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) detection while SPARTN utilizes in-house infrasound sensors for rockets, artillery, and mortars (RAM) detection. As a data scientist at Hyperion, I have been involved in the algorithm development aspects of these systems, and also a several government-contracted software projects, including Threat-Mapped Protection Assessment and Simulation Tool (TMPAST) for assessing sniper and bomb threats in a 3D mapping tool, sound classification for military ground vehicles, and Data Assembly Hub for accessing and processing scientific data from underwater uncrewed systems. In this talk, I will go over my personal involvement in these projects, how my background in physical acoustics came into play, and my journey in transitioning from academia to industry.