TECHNOLOGY AREAS: Air Platform, Sensors

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMA-290 Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft; PMA-264

OBJECTIVE: Develop techniques to improve intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capability to characterize the near-shore and surf-zone region using passive EO/IR imagery from a turreted system.

DESCRIPTION: Modern EO/IR turret systems include multi-spectral visible EO and IR wavelength cameras. The ability of a mission package, using these turrets, to provide large area coverage of the near-shore region for extraction of parameters that are operationally relevant to the warfighter would be an asset to mission planners. Techniques to retrieve parameters, such as bathymetry and currents, from time-series electro-optical (EO) imagery of the littoral zone have previously been developed and published. However, these methodologies were developed for panchromatic sensors and are limited to daylight maneuvers. Techniques for surf-zone characterization that utilize the added information in multi-spectral data to increase accuracy and also use data for night-time operations would be an asset to the warfighter for mission planning.

PHASE I: Determine the feasibility of developing algorithms that characterize the near-shore region by utilizing multi-spectral and IR imagery. Include design approaches for developing the algorithms and determine the limitations and accuracies expected. The final report should consider the method of data collection in Phase II and any hardware required to test the approach.

PHASE II: Develop algorithms utilizing multi-spectral and IR data that will increase the ISR capability in the near-shore and beach regions. Demonstrate the algorithm's utility using data collected in an operational setting and exercised with "non-research" computer code that can be operated by a third party.

PHASE III: Transition the developed product directly to a program of record turret system similar to EPAS, Britestar II or Cobra during its acquisition cycle. Transition to other air platforms such as multi-mission aircraft (MMA) (P-8A) and the H-60 and consider miniaturization for smaller unmanned air vehicles (UAVs).

PRIVATE SECTOR COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL/DUAL-USE APPLICATIONS: The use of airborne multi-spectral sensing has many commercial applications including geospatial mapping and natural disaster assessment.

REFERENCES:
1. Dugan, J.P., C.C. Piotrowski and J.Z. Williams, "Water depth and current retrievals from airborne optical measurements of surface gravity wave dispersion," J. Geophys. Res. � Oceans, 106, C8, 2001, 16903-16915

2. Piotrowski, C.C. and J.P. Dugan, "Accuracy of bathymetry and current retrievals from airborne optical time series imaging of shoaling waves," IEEE Trans. Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 40, 12, 2002, 2606-2618

3. Campion, D.C., J.P. Dugan, C.C. Piotrowski, and A.G. Evans, "Direct geo-referencing techniques for rapid positioning of targets and environmental products using tactical grade airborne imaging data," MTS/IEEE OCEANS '02 Conf., Biloxi, MS, 2002, 1603-1608

4. Dugan, J.P., C.C. Piotrowski and J.Z. Williams, "Rapid environmental assessment of METOC fields using motion imaging techniques applied to surrogate UAV data," MTS/IEEE OCEANS '02 Conf, Biloxi, MS, 2002, 1956-1961

5. Chickadel, C.C., R.A. Holman, and M.H. Freilich, "An optical technique for the measurement of longshore currents," J. Geophys. Res., 108, C11, 2003, 2801-2817

KEYWORDS: Time-Series; Imaging; Near-Shore; Surf-Zone; Bathymetry; Current

** TOPIC AUTHOR (TPOC) **

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