Automated Ship and Small Craft Classification Tool Development

RDRTec Inc. and SAIC propose to continue the development of Maritime Classification Aids (MCA) that includes the automation of ship and small craft classification using all the sensors and modes available. These include the use and merging of all available sensor data (radar, visible/infrared, and AIS). Radar modes include High Range Resolution (HRR), variable resolution and duration ISAR, simultaneous multiple ISAR, as well as multiple-polarization. These techniques when merged with adaptive sensor managers promise to efficiently increase the speed of information accrual as well as increase the robustness of maritime classification tools so as to assist sensor operators in rapidly and accurately classifying ships and small boats in the littoral zone. The proposed work compliments ongoing work being performed by RDRTec and SAIC in the areas of MCA that include single polarization ISAR and multi-sensor (ISAR and IR) assisted target recognition.