Data Fusion Handoff

ABSTRACT: As the military continues to move forward with an increased number of sensor and resulting fusion systems, it becomes necessary for these systems to be to communicate efficiently and effectively. This is especially important to the Air Force as they address the persistent layered sensing problem. In this problem, there are a number of sensor and fusion systems that in the past have operated independent of one another in a stovepiped fashion. As the military continue to move toward a more network centric environment, the need for these existing systems to operate with legacy fusion systems as well as newly developed systems become imperative. The goal of this effort is to extend the work complete during the first phase that demonstrated the ability to develop a common representation of a surveillance region through a common tracking number approach. As part of this Phase II effort, we propose to extend this successful Phase I proof-of-concept demonstration to more complex scenarios and environments by researching and developing new algorithms and concepts to solve the distributed fusion and tracking numbering problem. BENEFIT: Upon successful completion of this Phase II effort, Black River Systems Company will have demonstrated a data fusion handoff capability that solves a challenging Air Force problem. This will be accomplished by maintaining consistent identification of the target during transition between fusion systems and managing the uncertainty of the tracks during periods of transition all while working with legacy fusion systems.