Layered Sensing Bio-Signatures for Dismount Tracking

The company proposes to offer a sensor-software solution to advance the Air Force goal of robust, long-term identity, tracking and behavior awareness by using patented Spatial Phase Imaging (SPI) technology. With the capabilities of this technology, it will be possible to simultaneously obtain visible/ IR, 3D and polarization signatures from a single sensor that has small form factor and low power requirements. Creating a multi-sensor system, information from individual sensors will be fused into a single multi-dimensional signature per individual. Thus in addition to stand-alone performance, the sensors will also integrate seamlessly within the network of sensors and the bio-signature will be continually updated. This system-wide integration will ensure identity and trajectory management over extended durations. The resulting network of sensors of different types, placed at different geographic locations, will provide a comprehensive awareness of the situation. BENEFIT: The work in this project will lead to a multi-layered system that performs high-level integration. The collected data will be useful for other Air Force initiatives involving dismount analysis, scene modeling, simulations, and biometric recognition. The unique solutions developed to perform core tasks such as target detection, tracking and identification will further the state-of-the-art in these areas and have a significant impact on a broad range of defense and civilian applications. For example, algorithms developed for dismount and vehicle identification can be easily extended to object recognition. These can help Humanoid Robots navigate and find objects in a cluttered room. They can also help UGVs to detect suspicious objects and weapon caches. Similarly, the developed target tracking algorithms can be applied to applications as disparate as tracking the trajectory of missile or the motion of a ball. Additional commercial applications involve the increasing demand for effective non-intrusive systems. Such systems allow users to interface with minimal imposition, while allowing operators to track user activity in a covert manner. Examples of these applications include entry access, remote detection, automated recognition, behavior analysis, and intra-campus/facility tracking. A brief list of potential industries includes law enforcement, banking, private corporations, schools and universities, casinos, theme parks, retail, and hospitality.