Recognition of High-Range-Resolution (HRR) Profile Signatures of Moving Ground Targets for Combat Identification (CID) Navy SBIR FY2007.1 Sol No.: Navy SBIR FY2007.1 Topic No.: N07-017 Topic Title: Recognition of High-Range-Resolution (HRR) Profile Signatures of Moving Ground Targets for Combat Identification (CID) Proposal No.: N071-017-1080 Firm: Lakota Technical Solutions, Inc. PO Box 1180 Laurel, Maryland 20725 Contact: J. Pence Phone: (301) 725-1700 Web Site: www.lakota-tsi.com Abstract: Limited success of current High Range Resolution (HRR) Aided Target Recognition (AiTR) approaches are largely due to the following shortcomings: 1) the heavy reliance on HRR profile features that are susceptible to measured HRR profile variability and 2) the attempt to declare targets at the highest level of specificity (e.g. T-72 instead of Tank) in all cases. The first shortcoming limits HRR AiTR performance because measured HRR profiles are susceptible to measurement noise, translational range migration (TRM), rotational range migration (RRM), speckle reflection, and self-occlusion. As a result, current approaches that use such HRR features cannot confidently discriminate between many target types. The second shortcoming aggravates the first by attempting to make highly specific target recognition declarations among ambiguous target types that typically exhibit only subtle differences in HRR profile features. In the proposed solution, Temporal Feature Correlation with Hierarchical Reasoning (TFC-HR), these shortcomings are overcome by employing: 1) HRR profile features that are robust to real-world sources of HRR profile variability and 2) hierarchical feature clustering that allows for target recognition at varying levels of specificity. Benefits: The proposed Temporal Feature Correlation with Hierarchical Reasoning (TFC-HR) technology can be leveraged for additional DoD and non-DoD applications including: future multi-mission combat aircraft, missile defense, data mining and search, maritime port security, and medical diagnostics. Future multi-mission combat aircraft such as the F/A-22 Raptor and F-35 Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) have similar ground attack requirements and air-to-ground radar capabilities as the F/A-18 Super Hornet. Thus, a suitable High Range Resolution (HRR) Aided Target Recognition (AiTR) capability developed under this SBIR is directly applicable to these future aircraft and will reduce both cost and technical risk on these programs. One critical aspect of missile defense is warhead discrimination, where the objective is to identify the actual warhead(s) among a set of confusers and decoys deployed by an enemy missile. With advanced high-resolution radars being deployed as part of the United States Missile Defense System, algorithms and processing techniques developed under this SBIR are directly applicable to warhead discrimination. Integration of this technology into land-based National Missile Defense systems as well sea-based Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense has the potential of dramatically increasing the effectiveness of these systems. Since the TFC-HR technology is generally applicable to object recognition using feature-aided discrimination, its applications extend beyond the DoD domain. Some of these applications include data mining and search, maritime port security, and medical diagnostics. The TFC-HR technology can assist in the clustering and organization of vast data sets to enable rapid search and retrieval based upon feature observations include fingerprint databases and facial recognition databases. In addition, TFC-HR technology can be applied to maritime port security by rapidly scanning cargo using X-ray backscatter techniques and recognizing objects such as small arms, mobile weapons, or bomb making materials. Finally, TFC-HR technology can be applied to medical diagnostics where hyper-spectral signatures can be used to classify abnormal cells, tumors, or cancer variants. Return