Maritime Traffic Model Aided Tracking
Navy SBIR 2016.1 - Topic N161-004
NAVAIR - Ms. Donna Attick - [email protected]
Opens: January 11, 2016 - Closes: February 17, 2016

N161-004 TITLE: Maritime Traffic Model Aided Tracking

TECHNOLOGY AREA(S): Air Platform, Sensors

ACQUISITION PROGRAM: PMA 299 H-60 Helicopter Program Office

The technology within this topic is restricted under the International Traffic in Arms Regulation (ITAR), 22 CFR Parts 120-130, which controls the export and import of defense-related material and services, including export of sensitive technical data, or the Export Administration Regulation (EAR), 15 CFR Parts 730-774, which controls dual use items. Offerors must disclose any proposed use of foreign nationals (FNs), their country(ies) of origin, the type of visa or work permit possessed, and the statement of work (SOW) tasks intended for accomplishment by the FN(s) in accordance with section 5.4.c.(8) of the solicitation. Offerors are advised foreign nationals proposed to perform on this topic may be restricted due to the technical data under US Export Control Laws.

OBJECTIVE: Develop a significant capability increase in tracker performance by utilizing improved motion prediction of vessels by exploiting the maritime traffic model these vessels must obey.

DESCRIPTION: Naval forces conducting transits through straits and other congested littoral operational areas are presented with a challenging force protection requirement. Surface traffic density is often high, with many ferries, fishing and pleasure boats, and large cargo ships maneuvering in a small area. State of the art techniques based on high range resolution fingerprinting and emitter exploitation can be used to improve long term tracking performance of feature rich vessels such as naval combatants. However many smaller vessels lack adequate features to provide adequate track re-association. Utilizing traffic models in conjunction with the limited feature sets of these small vessels offers the potential to improve tracking performance.

Design and develop a novel maritime traffic-flow model which adaptively selects the appropriate level of fidelity (micro, meso, and macro) dependent upon the level of available maritime traffic knowledge. Various levels of fidelity should be applied across a geographic region to maximize overall track life expectancy while minimizing computational throughput requirements. Incorporate the maritime traffic model into the tracker kinematic prediction and use dynamically updated maritime traffic information to adaptively refine the track state prediction. By using the local traffic dynamics, the tracker can greatly reduce the miss-associations and mitigate the principle causes of track breaks. Generating these traffic dynamics using both prior knowledge as well as real time assessment is required.

It is recommended, but not required, to interact and collaborate with the original equipment manufacturers (OEM) of legacy radar systems such as the APY-10, APS-153 and ZPY-4.

Work produced in Phase II may become classified. Note: The prospective contractor(s) must be U.S. owned and operated with no foreign influence as defined by DoD 5220.22-M, National Industrial Security Program Operating Manual, unless acceptable mitigating procedures can and have been implemented and approved by the Defense Security Service (DSS). The selected contractor and/or subcontractor must be able to acquire and maintain a secret level facility and Personnel Security Clearances, in order to perform on advanced phases of this project as set forth by DSS and NAVAIR in order to gain access to classified information pertaining to the national defense of the United States and its allies; this will be an inherent requirement. The selected company will be required to safeguard classified material IAW DoD 5220.22-M during the advanced phases of this contract.

PHASE I: Design and demonstrate the feasibility and approach to significantly improve tracking performance of existing legacy radar systems such as the APY-10, APS-153 and ZPY-4 to include a target signature exploitation capability. Develop a concept using both a priori knowledge as well as real time assessment and evaluate technical feasibility sufficiently to validate the approach.

PHASE II: Develop a prototype system designed in Phase I to provide and demonstrate that legacy radar systems (identified above) can be modified to provide the improved target tracking capability. Perform performance assessments using target layouts and behaviors representative of operational maritime environments provided by the Navy. Expand the design characteristics addressed during the Phase I effort. Deliver a detailed report and prototype system. The report should address the required modifications including estimated cost to integrate this technology into candidate radar systems and the key characteristics required in existing legacy systems for extension to additional capability. Fully documented algorithms should be produced and delivered.

PHASE III DUAL USE APPLICATIONS: Perform final testing and integration in collaboration with the Navy, and potentially the radar system OEM, to update selected legacy systems with the new target tracking capability. Coastal surveillance radar systems could leverage this technology for improved performance in the presence of non-cooperative contacts.

REFERENCES:

1. Puszcz, A., Gucma L., Gucma M., Development of a Model for Simulation of Vessel Traffic Streams. http://www.geocities.ws/icts_papers/Papers/Puszcz,%20Gucma,%20Gucma.pdf

2. Dragovic, B., Zrnic, N., Twdy, E. & Rooy, D., (2010). Ship Traffic Modeling and Performance Evaluation in Container Port. http://www.anale-ing.uem.ro/2010/A_20.pdf

KEYWORDS: Radar; maritime surveillance; ship traffic; port traffic; maritime tracking; situtational awareness

TPOC-1: 301-342-2637

TPOC-2: 301-342-9094

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