TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Information Systems

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMA-299, PMA-265

OBJECTIVE: Develop innovative data fusion tracking techniques to combine data from disparate sensor sources with nearby but only partially overlapping coverage areas.

DESCRIPTION: Data fusion is critical to many Navy missions and platforms. In particular, many missions and platforms rely on target tracking systems. These tracking systems typically focus on fusing data from multiple heterogeneous sensors with overlapping coverage areas. For these systems, the intent is to develop higher quality and higher precision tracks using the data from all the sensors collectively. For emerging Naval missions, such as supporting National Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA), the sensors are sufficiently far enough from each other that the coverage areas are nearby but mostly non-overlapping. Also, the data from one region may not be available in a timely manner to provide to the nearby regions, adding data latency to the problem of tracking across these regions. The goal is to persistently track surface vessels as they move from one coverage area to another, including moving in and out of the same coverage area using data from disparate sources. The track information that the sensor has will then be shared with the next sensor. An important attribute of a track is its track number. The track should retain its number as it moves from region to region. In the case of maritime objects, knowledge of the landmasses could be used to restrict the areas where the object could go. This information along with knowledge of adjoining sensors will be used to alert the appropriate sensors.

PHASE I: Investigate the feasibility of new algorithms to persistently track vessels in non-overlapping coverage areas using data from disparate sensor sources with various levels of latency. Demonstrate a scheme for issuing track numbers to keep them unique and persistent as the object moves from one coverage area to another. Develop the initial concept design and model.

PHASE II: Construct and demonstrate the scheme and the tracking methodology using government data in accordance with the criteria developed in Phase I. Include simulated data created during the effort.

PHASE III: Work with Navy customers and their primes to identify and mitigate any software transition issues, i.e. real-time performance, etc. Develop a prototype to be flown on the MH-60 aircraft. Transition technology into a Navy system, e.g., DCGS.

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: The technology developed under this program will have application to any commercial activity that shares data generated from multiple sources over a large distributed environment. Commercial shipping and distribution of goods would benefit from this technology.

REFERENCES:
1. Waltz, E.; Llinas, J.; Multi Sensor Data Fusion, Artech House, Boston, 1990.
2. A. Pawlowski and P. Gerken, "Simulator, Workstation, and Data Fusion Components for Onboard/Offboard Multi-Target Multi-Sensor Fusion", Presented at 17th IEEE/AIAA Digital Avionics Systems Conference, Seattle, WA, November 1998.
3. Bar-Shalom, Yaakov; L, X. Rong; Kirubarajan, Thiagalingam; Estimation with Applications to Tracking and Navigation.

KEYWORDS: Data Fusion; Tracking; Tracking Algorithms; Data Hand-off; Multi-Sensor Tracking; Wide-Region Tracking

TPOC: (301)342-9111
2nd TPOC: (301)342-0109

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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